Crossbows and Red Crows
by Fikli
Summary: The group from the prison found Natalie while on a supply run. After being around her awhile they began calling her "The Female Daryl". They will find out soon enough how well that nickname suits her. Daryl has his eye on her in more ways than one. Will Natalie and Daryl be able to break down each others emotional barriers? I suck at summaries. The Walking Dead Daryl Dixon/OC
1. Solitude

**This is a story I have had floating around in my head for awhile. I will be adding to it over time and I will also come back and make corrections as I see fit. I may intentionally change some of the situations and dialogue that goes on in the show. So if something doesn't add up, that is why. I hope you enjoy! **

**Rated M for strong language, violence, sexual situations and gore.**

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I have only been with this new group for a few weeks. I mostly keep to myself, though. No one really takes the time out to talk to me or get to know me. That is fine by me; I'm not really much of a people person. I had been on my own for so long before joining them that being alone wasn't really a problem. The only time someone speaks to me is to tell me my chores for the day or tell me when it's time for a meal. I usually eat alone and do my chores alone. Once in awhile i'll be paired with someone but everything is done in silence. No one even knows my full name.

I don't know if everyone just doesn't like me or is intimidated by me. They are a close knit group so I figure I am just the outsider and always will be. I figured they only invited me into their group because they felt they had to; after I saved their friend with the crossbow. They were on a run to the town not far from the prison, for supplies. I happened to be in the same town and I happened to single-handedly save the guy named Daryl from a group of walkers who were swarming in around him. Everyone else was off looking in other buildings and they sent him off alone. Apparently they did this a lot to him.

I never even got a thank you from him, either. All he said to me was "I could'a handled it, girl."

He then picked up his things and walked away from me.

I followed him and that's when I met the others. The groups leader, Rick, was the one who asked me if I wanted to join them back at the prison. Not after being asked a series of questions beforehand.

The first set of questions were.

_"What was my first name and was I alone?"_

The second was _"How many walkers I had killed?"_

The third and final question was _"How many people I had killed?"_

I answered all honestly, I had no reason to lie, but they didn't need to know every last thing about me. These people were strangers and if you were smart in this day and age, you wouldn't let anyone too close.

Ever since then Daryl hasn't taken his eyes off me. I guess he just doesn't trust me. I don't blame him for being wary of me. Though, I am not the type of person who would harm them; they don't know that, they know nothing about me. I can't fault a guy for being cautious. I would never voluntarily offer anything about myself and I would never ask more of anyone than I would need to know. Maybe they all just lived by the same code I did. I wouldn't know and I wouldn't ask. If they want me to know something, they will tell me and likewise for myself.

It was hot day and it barely cooled off by the evening. I had first watch of the night and made my way up to the guard tower to take over for Maggie and Glenn. I hated taking watch after them. The guard tower always smelled like sex after they left and I was afraid to touch anything. I didn't see how anyone could even think of sex nowadays. Everything was so risky. The risk of getting pregnant in a world full of walkers, the risk of losing a loved one to a walker, the risk of getting bit on your ass mid-thrust, by a walker!

That thought made me chuckle out loud a little.

I banged on the door and heard.

"Hang on, be out in a minute."

I let out an irritated sigh. It for sure was going to stink in there!

They finally opened the door.

"It's all yours!" They said while they both walked off giggling.

"HEHEHE" I let out sarcastically as they walked away.

I left the door open as I plopped down in the chair that was in the guard tower. I wanted to air the place out, it was also stifling hot in there if you kept the door closed.

As it grew darker out, I seen the group had started lighting up their lanterns in the prison. Though it was only a faint glow through the windows of the prison, I found the light a distraction. I always wondered what they were doing in the prison while I was out here by myself.

About an hour after they lit up the lanterns, I heard someone climbing the ladder to the guard tower. It was to early for anyone to come and take my place. I grabbed my tomahawk I had at my side, tucked into my belt, out of habit. I was relieved when I seen it was just Rick's son, Carl.

"Hello," he said as he walked into the guard room.

"Hi." I only answered back, raising an eyebrow in wonder.

"I thought you'd might like some company?" He asked cautiously.

"Does your dad know your up here, Carl?"

"I told him I was going to talk to Michonne, but she was busy so I figured I'd keep you company."

I studied him for a long moment. Finally I nodded and pointed to an empty chair next to mine. He plopped down in it happily and looked around at everything. He stayed quiet for a moment before he finally found his voice.

"So what is your name?" He asked.

"Natalie, you know that, Carl," I answered back.

"No, your whole name."

"Why do you want to know?" I asked suspicously.

Carl just shrugged.

"Because I don't know anything about you. You don't know anything about us either," he suggested.

"I'm Carl Grimes." He said and stuck his hand out for me to shake, with a big grin on his face.

I couldn't help but smile back.

"Natalie, Natalie Red Crow," I answered and took his hand and shook it.

"So, you're like, Native American?" he asked curiously.

"That I am." I answered.

"Cool. I haven't met a lot of you before...uh...Native Americans I mean," He said stumbling over his words.

I just laughed.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I haven't run across many lately either." I said jokingly.

We bothed laughed and it grew quiet again.

"You know you don't always have to be by yourself." Carl finally spoke up.

I raised an eyebrow at him and just let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Since I've been here, you're the first one to even take the time to speak to me."

"The others just aren't sure of you. You aren't exactly the talkative looking type," Carl answered.

"Everyone is actually calling you the female Daryl," he added with a laugh.

"Why are they calling me that?" I asked with a hint of irritation in my voice.

"Because Daryl isn't the talkative type either." he said with a shrug.

"I noticed. He isn't the type with manners either." I said.

"What do you mean?" Carl asked.

"When I saved him from those walkers, He didn't even give me so much as a _Thank you._"

"_YOU_ saved _DARYL_ from walkers?" Carl asked very surprised.

"Yeah, back when they went on that supply run. The day they brought me back..." I answered very confused.

"He said he found you, he took you to my dad and that was that." Carl answered back.

"I'm sure he did. Well if that's what he told everyone, let them keep on thinking it. This stays between you and me, alright Carl?"

"Alright." he answered.

"Alright, you better get back to your dad before he starts to worry."

"Alright, Natalie Red Crow" He said with a smile as he stood up to leave.

"Can we talk some more tomorrow?" He turned and asked before he climbed down the ladder.

"If your dad is ok with it." I answered back.

Carl just nodded and smiled and then made his way down the ladder. I watched him walk across the prison yard. Before he got halfway to the entrance, Daryl stopped him and was talking to him. I assume he was asking him where he was because Carl only pointed to the tower I was in. Daryl lifted his gaze to the guard tower and stared at it for a minute. He finally let Carl go and he turned and walked back into the shadows.

_"I hope I didn't get Carl in trouble" _I thought to myself.

We will see tomorrow.

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**A/N:**

**I do not own The Walking Dead or any characters pertaining to The Walking Dead. I only own Natalie Red Crow. **


	2. Withholding

I woke up in my makeshift bed on the library floor of the prison. When I first got here, Rick offered me a cell on the same block of the prison as everyone else, but I wanted to be away from everyone. I couldn't imagine sleeping so close to other people, who were relative strangers to me.

_"I would have never made it in prison!"_ I thought to myself and let out a chuckle.

I stretched, yawned and rubbed my eyes. I was still kind of tired. Carol overslept last night and left me hanging on my guard duty shift for three extra hours before finally relieving me. I didn't argue with her when she got there, like she was expecting me to. I figured there was no point. What was done, was done. No use in whining about it. I could tell she was actually grateful, though.

I made my way to the cafeteria of the prison. Breakfast was already in full swing. Nobody paid me any mind when I walked in. No one but Carl, that is. I got my food and sat down at a table by myself. He smiled when I looked over at him and he picked up his plate of food and made his way over to me and plopped down at the table, across from me.

"Mornin' Natalie Red Crow!" He said with a smile.

"Good morning, Carl Grimes." I replied, returning a smile.

"So, what do you want to do today?" He asked excitedly.

"I Have fence duty, little dude." I answered.

Carl scowled.

"Sounds fun." he said with a frown.

"No one said you had to do it, buddy!" I said with a laugh.

"No, I asked if we could hang out and talk and I meant it." He replied.

"Did you even ask your dad if he wants you around me?" I asked.

"Why wouldn't he want me around you?" Carl questioned.

I just shrugged.

"Because no one is eager to hang out with me." I suggested.

"I told you, the others just aren't sure about you." Carl replied.

"They have mouths, they can ask me anything if they aren't sure about me." I said sarcastically.

"The same goes for you. You haven't offered anything about yourself. You just seem like you don't want to be bothered. An attitude like that makes people unsure," Carl said matter-of-factly.

The kid was right. I had no witty comeback for that. I am a loner and wasn't used to being around so many people...well not since the world went to shit.

I just nodded at him and looked down at my food.

"Well we better get going soon if we want to start in on those walkers at the fences!" Carl said eagerly.

"Oh! So now we are eager to get to the fences!?" I asked jokingly.

He just shrugged and smiled.

Just then I noticed Rick staring at us out of the corner of my eye.

"You better make sure it's ok with your dad first. I don't want no trouble from your pops." I told Carl.

Carl nodded and got up and made his way over to Rick. I seen them talking and Rick kept looking over at me, questioningly. He finally nodded and Carl came jogging back to our table.

"My dad says it's ok as long as we keep an eye out for each other and stay together," he said.

"Okay. Let's get going." I said.

I looked over at Rick and nodded. He only nodded back and just stared as Carl and I walked off.

Once we were down at the fences, we prepped ourselves. We tied bandanas around our faces for the smell and made sure we had the right weapons for the job we were about to do.

It took us a few hours but finally we had cleared the walkers directly at the fence. We didn't really speak at all. The moans and hisses from the walkers made conversation almost impossible.

It was almost noon before we finally stopped.

"Want to eat lunch now?" Carl asked.

"I thought you'd never ask! I'm starving!" I replied.

"Yeah, you didn't eat much at breakfast" He said.

"Go find us a spot in the shade to sit and I will go get us something to eat," he added before jogging off into the prison.

I washed up and found us a decent spot with shade by the prison entrance. Carl came back with two bowls of baked beans and two apples.

"Here is your lunchtime feast, M'lady," he said as he handed me my food.

"M'lady? you're weird," I said with a chuckle.

We mostly ate in silence. I was far too hungry to make conversation at the time. When we finished, we sat quietly for a moment before Carl finally spoke.

"So, What's your story?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean like, where are you from? How old are you? Is that a real tomahawk you have?" He pointed to the weapon I kept by me at all times.

"Do you have family? what did you do before all this," He moitioned to the walkers behind the fence, in front of the prison. He finally quieted down and waited for me to answer.

"You done now?" I said with a laugh.

"You ask a lot of questions, kid," I added.

"I'm a teenager, I'm nosy!" he said with a laugh.

"Well, Originally, I'm from South Dakota. I'm 19 and my favorite color is red and my pet peeve is whiny chicks." I said with a laugh.

Carl laughed along with me and then the laughter died down. He stayed quiet for a minute.

"So, you're not going to tell me about your family?" he asked cautiously.

"Nothing to tell. I had a Grandfather and I had an older brother...but they are gone now." I said flatly.

"What about your parents?" Carl pushed the question further.

"Look kid, You have your dad and he seems like a great guy. Some people don't have it as good as you do." I answered harsher than I intended to.

My parents were a sore subject for me, though. I also didn't like to talk about my grandfather and brother. The pain of losing them was more than I wanted to bare. I wasn't ready to tell anyone about the two greatest people, who were my entire world; the only two people who ever gave a shit about me. Their memory was mine and mine alone. I would keep it to myself until I was ready to speak about it.

Carl took my harshness in stride.

"I lost my mom. She died giving birth to my sister, Judith. I'm the one who had to put her down after." Carl said and hung his head low at the memory.

I was shocked that Carl would share this with me. It was so personal and he didn't need to tell me this, but he wanted to. I looked at him in a whole different light after that. He had to do what no kid should ever have to do, not even in this fucked up world. I respected him but I also felt really bad for him.

I tried to change the subject so we wouldn't dwell on it.

"So, that baby in there is your little sister?" I asked.

His eyes lit up and I could tell he was a proud big brother.

"Yep, That's my baby sister. She's eight months old now!" He replied.

"She's cute," I said with a smile.

"Yeah, she looks like me!" he said jokingly.

We both laughed. Our laughter was soon interrupted by a deep, gruff voice.

"Natalie, I'm goin' on a run for supplies. Rick said I had ta take you with me for some reason." Daryl said with irritation in his voice.

"Okay, Let me just grab my bag." I answered back flatly.

"See ya later?" I asked Carl.

"You know it!" he answered and high fived me.

I just smiled and went and grabbed my bag.

I followed Daryl to the truck we were taking and got in. Michonne, Maggie and Glenn opened the gates as we made our way out and quickly shut them behind us before any walkers could get in.

The ride was awkwardly quiet. Daryl seemed pissed off and I wasn't about to engage some angry guy in conversation. I had nothing to say to him anyway, so I kept my mouth shut. I noticed he kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye when he thought I wasn't looking. I paid no mind to him though. I just stared out the window and hoped we got to our destination soon.

After passing the town the group found me in and making our way into the next, we finally stopped. We got out of the truck and he quickly barked out orders.

"We clear the street first and then we go in and clear the building" He motioned to three walkers shuffling around in front of the building we needed to go in.

I only nodded and followed him towards the walkers. He quickly took down the first walker with his knife. I got the second with my tomahawk. The third he got before I could get to it.

"What kind of person uses a fuckin' tomahawk for a weapon," he asked after glancing at me.

"The kind who saved your ass back in the last town with it," I said dryly.

"So what are you, some type of indian or somethin'? You know, the feather kind, not the dot kind." he asked.

"Jesus Christ, you have no filter do you?" I shot back.

"Why? did little miss too-good-for-anyone get offended?" he said mockingly.

"Too good for anyone? what the fuck do you mean? You people want nothing to do with me! Carl is the only one who even bothered to learn my name!" I spat back.

"Kid got'sa crush on you is all, don't take it to heart," he said flatly.

"Whatever," I said irritated.

"And another thing, Everyone callin' you the female me, don't get that shit twisted either, girly. We ain't nothin' alike," He said angrily.

'Thank fucking Christ for small favors!" I shot back.

"Lets get this shit done, I don't want to be out here with you longer than I have to," I added.

I walked passed Daryl as he just stood there.

He wasn't used to people talking back to him like that. Everyone was usually afraid of him and never crossed him. He wouldn't tell her that she just earned a notch of respect from him. He was even more curious about her now. He didn't know how to go about asking anything about her though. He wasn't the social type. He wouldn't just start up a conversation and ask her what her goals and dreams were. That had never been Daryl's style. He was a loner, through and through.

Daryl slowly opened the door to the building. It looked clear, but looks could be deceiving. He whistled and stood there quietly, listening for walkers. One shuffled to the front of the building and he quickly took care of it.

After everything was clear. We went in and grabbed what we needed. Mostly antibiotics and other medicines. The building must have been a small pharmacy or something. The sign out front was torn down and missing, but, that's what it looked like inside.

We found a little bit of food and water. We filled our bags up and were done clearing the place within twenty minutes. We cautiously made our way back out to the truck and headed back to the prison.

It was excruciatingly quiet. Neither of us wanted to initiate conversation. Daryl was starting to feel kind of bad for saying what he said to me. He wasn't about to apologize, though.

They finally reached the gates and noticed something was amiss. There was a huge fucking tank in the field in front of the prison. There were also, cars, trucks and people standing around them.

"What the fuck!?" Daryl uttered.

Maggie and Glenn quickly opened the gates and Daryl drove in.

"What the hell is goin' on?" He asked in a panicked tone.

"It's the Governor!" Glenn answered back, distressed.

"Who is that? what's happening!?" I demanded.

"Grab a gun. He is here to fight," was all Daryl said.

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**Comment and review! Let me know your thoughts on the story.**


	3. Chaos

I had no idea what was going on but I knew now wasn't the time to demand answers. There was a tank and a lot of people surrounding it holding weapons which were pointed right at us and the prison. I noticed the kind looking old man named Hershel and Michonne kneeling on the ground, with their hands tied behind their backs, in front of the one Glenn called "The Governor."

I tried to scan the prison yard for Carl, but couldn't see him. I did see that Rick was talking to The Governor, who was holding Michonne's sword to Hershels neck. I assume he was trying to reason with the man, trying to negotiate with him. I couldn't hear anything that was being said though; I was too far away. I was starting to get anxious. I wanted to find Carl, my only friend, and try and protect him. I hadn't felt the urge to protect anyone in a long time; Not since I lost my brother. Even when I saved Daryl from the walkers when the group first found me, was more instinct than desire to protect him.

I could tell Daryl was getting anxious too. He motioned for us to try and get to the gate in front of the entrance of the prison. Glenn and Maggie had made their way over there already, to get in a better firing position for their guns. I stayed low and followed Daryl. We finally got to Maggie and Glenn and we had a much better view of what was happening. We still couldn't hear anything, but if we needed to fire our weapons, it was the best vantage point from the ground that we had. Maggie's sister Beth made her way over to us shortly after. The five of us sat silently, waiting for a signal from Rick.

Rick seemed to be pleading with The Governor now. The man with the eyepatch just stood there, no expression on his face at all. Without warning, he swung Michonne's sword right into the side of Hershel's neck. Maggie and Beth's eyes grew wide with shock and disbelief. They screamed in horror and moments later opened fire onto The Governor's people. They took out a few of his people right away. The Governor ducked and dodged the onslaught of bullets that were now flying towards him.

Just then the tank came to life and it's huge gun started to turn and aim right at the front of the prison. Then it fired at it and with a loud boom, the front of the prison walls exploded and crumbled to the ground when it was hit. Our people were now screaming and running in different directions. Most were running to the bus that was parked on the side of the prison. Apprently they had an escape plan for this very situation that I wasn't clued in on.

The tank ran down the fences to the prison and soon the chaos was brought closer to us. Daryl and I picked off a lot of the governor's people who leaked in behind it. Glenn did his best to help out but was running low on ammo. During the mayhem, he got seperated from Maggie, who ran off towards where he father had fallen. Daryl told Glenn to head for the bus and he would find Maggie to which Glenn reluctantly agreed. Beth was still at our side and doing her best to help out but was too distraught over her father.

We took out a majority of the governor's people who hadn't run off and were still fighting, but with all the noise happening at the prison, it attracted a herd of walkers. They poured into the gate and added to the chaos. We still had a tank to deal with as well. It kept firing on the prison and soon the front of it was nothing but rubble.

Daryl happened to find a grenade and ran up to the tank and pulled the pin on it and shoved it down the chute of the tanks gun. He ran away as quick as he could before it exploded. Once it was out of commission, he turned his attention back on the few people still firing at us. I was in front of him and Beth at his side. He was so caught up in the chaos around them that he failed to notice the walker right in back of him. I turned and noticed it just in time. I took the knife out of my belt and yelled for him to duck. His eyes widened as he seen my knife flying towards him. He ducked just in time and the knife hit the walker right between the eyes. He stood up and looked at me in shock. It was short lived though. He grabbed Beth's arm and ran towards me.

"We have ta get out of here, NOW!" he shouted as he ran past me. I followed him and Beth without hesitation. We ran towards the gate on the side of the prison leading away from the grounds and ran out and toward the tree-line surrounding it. We ran as long as we could until he were dying to catch our breath. By then we had reached a small clearing in the woods, maybe a mile from the prison. We collapsed to the ground, having a little coverage from the tall grass growing in it. We had a herd of walkers on our tail the whole way. The noise brought them closer to the prison and when we ran through the woods, they turned their attention on us. There were too many to take down, we had to just try and lose them.

We nodded to each other when we had caught our breath and got up and kept running. We were losing the light, too. We made it out of the woods and to the road eventually and found an old abandoned car...Looked like an old beat up Nova. The herd was not far behind us, we were slow moving due to exhaustion so they had been somewhat, pretty close to us the entire time. Daryl looked around for somewhere to hide.

"Look!, the trunk is open. Get in quick!" he said to us while opening it up all the way.

Beth and I climbed in and scooted as far towards the back seat as possible. Daryl climbed in after us and only then noticed the trunk was broke. It wouldn't close all the way. "Fuck!" Daryl said. He looked around in a panic and found an old rag laying next to him and looped it through a hole on the trunk lid and held it down himself. Not long after, the herd of walkers made their way past us, slowly. It seemed like we were in the trunk for hours. Beth was starting to panic a little from being cramped up in a tight space for so long. I held my hand over her mouth as she whimpered softly into it.

We waited until the sun came up before we opened the trunk. We wanted to make sure the herd was far off before we even dared to come out. I could tell Daryl was sore from holding the trunk closed for so long, but I made no mention of it. He would just tell me to mind my own business anyway.

I started looking through the car, for anything useful. As luck would have it, there was a jug of water hidden under some blankets. I took the water and the two blankets and made my way back to Daryl and Beth. Beth just stood there silently and Daryl was looking around; I assume he was forming a plan in his head on what to do next. He only said "C'mon." before he started to walk off. Beth obediently followed and I followed after her, carrying our new found supplies.

It must have been mid-morning. We found a spot to rest, a little ways back into the woods. Daryl said he would find us something to eat and I stayed behind with Beth and started a fire. Beth didn't say a word while Daryl was gone. She just sat quietly, in a daze. I couldn't blame her for being this way. She watched her father get murdered right in front of her eyes and now she didn't even know if her sister, Maggie, was even alive. I had no words of comfort for her. I knew exactly how it felt to lose your only family you had left in this world. I couldn't tell her _"Cheer up! It gets easier!"_ because it doesn't.

About an hour later, Daryl came back with a snake he caught. Beth eyed it in disgust while he sat in front of us and skinned it. I took that as she had never ate snake before. I had eaten it many times before so it wasn't anything new to me.

Daryl cooked it up and gave us our share. He and I tore into it without hesitation. Beth looked it over for a minute before taking a dainty bite out of it at first. Only after she realized that was all we had, did she finally eat. After she finished, she finally spoke.

"I want a drink."

Daryl threw a water bottle towards her.

"No, I mean I want alcohol. Daddy never let me have a drink before..." she said and then trailed off.

Daryl didn't respond to her. I only gave her a sideways glance and then turned my gaze back down. After a moment of silence and realizing neither of us was going to respond to her, did she stand up. Daryl brought his gaze up to her finally.

"UGH! If neither of you will help me get a drink, then I'll go find one myself! It's better than sitting here eating this snake, which tastes like shit, by the way! and being stuck with the two biggest assholes left on this earth in this suck ass camp!" Beth yelled out.

I finally raised my gaze up to her. I looked her dead in the eye and then stood up. I walked slowly over to her and got right in her face.

"Watch your mouth little girl, You don't know anything about me." was all I said before walking off.

I didn't wander off too far, I knew that would be a stupid move. I sat quietly against a tree, going over yesterdays events in my head. I was so confused. "_Who were those people and what the hell was going on?"_ I thought to myself. My thoughts were soon interrupted when I heard a couple of walkers making their way towards where I was sitting. I quietly got into a crouching position and pulled the tomahawk from my belt. I waited until they were near and took them out by myself. After I pulled my tomahawk from the second walkers skull, did I turn and notice Daryl standing not far from me. He was just staring at me, like he was trying to figure something out about me but couldn't find an answer.

He cleared his throat after a long pause and said "C'mon." and motioned back to our camp with a nod of his head.

Once back at the camp I noticed Daryl and rolled our blankets up and had what little supplies we had, packed. Beth stood away from me with her head down and refused to look at Daryl and I.

"Let's go." Daryl finally spoke up.

Beth finally brought her gaze to his and said "Where we going?"

"Ta find you your drink." Was all he replied with before walking off.

Beth immediately followed him. I kicked the dirt in frustration and finally followed too.

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**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Comment and review!**


	4. Game Time

**Sorry I haven't updated this story in awhile. I have been sick and unable to write any new chapters. I hope you understand. Hope you Enjoy the new content! Happy reading!**

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We followed Daryl as he walked toward an unknown destination. I had no idea where we were headed and I had no idea if Beth knew where we were headed either. I just hung back from the both of them as we walked. I wasn't in the mood for conversation with either of them.

We passed a few walkers along the way which Daryl took care of before Beth and I even had a chance to react. I respected the man for that, he didn't hesitate, that's for sure. Beth on the other hand, I had no clue what she was made of. This was really the first time I had been around her. She was one of the main people to avoid me at the prison for some odd reason. I never thought too much about it. Her sister Maggie would at least acknowledge me and her dad was always kind to me when we interacted but, that was rare. I made it a point to kind of stay away from everyone.

Carl was the one who made me change my mind about life at the prison. He was my first real friend since this whole apocalypse happened. I was pissed at myself for not going back to look for him. I just followed Daryl like an obedient little dog. God! Beth was right, I was an asshole.

I had been thinking quietly to myself for awhile and didn't notice the walker that made it's way behind Beth when we stopped for a short break. It startled Beth and she let out a small shriek before it knocked her to the ground. She struggled to get it off her and she tried to reach for the knife she kept tucked into her belt. I ran to help her but Daryl got to her before me. He stabbed the walker in the back of the head and kicked it over, off of Beth.

Beth sat up on the ground and started yelling.

"What good is being with you two if you won't even watch my back!?"

Daryl held out his hand to help her up but she smacked it away.

"I can get up by myself! I don't need your help! I don't need either of you to help me!" Beth continued shouting.

"Sure looked like you needed our help a second ago" I suggested, sarcastically.

Beth gave me a dirty look before finally standing to her feet. She tried to straighten her clothes but it did no good. She now had walker blood all over her shirt.

Daryl glanced at me before starting to walk again. I followed and Beth now trailed after us. After maybe another twenty minutes of walking, we were on what looked like a golf course. Daryl stopped and looked at Beth.

"In there" was all he said to Beth and pointed toward what I assumed was the golf courses clubhouse.

He started walking toward it and Beth followed. We got to the door and noticed a few walkers on the golf course that noticed our presence and were now shuffling towards us. We could easily handle them though if we needed to.

Daryl motioned to me to get behind him and cover him, he was about to open the door. He opened it slowly and peeked his head in. It looked clear but looks could be deceiving. He knocked loudly on the door to draw out any walkers that may be lurking. When none came, we went in.

The place was huge. I had never been on a golf course before, let alone a clubhouse for it's members. It looked like it used to be a really fancy one. The kind that only rich people could be a member of exclusively. I would have never had any business being in here before the apocalypse started. I was far from being rich in my life before all this happened.

The front part of the clubhouse was littered with bodies. It looked like the wealthy and powerful had came here and decided they couldn't live in a world like this and offed themselves. There were even a few that had hung themselves and were now kicking and flailing from their nooses as we passed by. Daryl took care of them and put arrows in their skulls. More to quiet them down so they wouldn't cause too much noise than taking pity on them.

We looked around and cleared the rest of the front part of the clubhouse. We began to make our way towards the back. Beth went ahead of Daryl and I, down a hallway which led to the kitchen of the clubhouse. Beth looked around the kitchen quickly and noticed a bottle of wine on one of the shelves and picked it up. Just then a walker she didn't notice when she walked in, grabbed for her from the side and started to attack her. Beth reacted quickly and smashed the bottle of wine into the side of it's head. It slowed it but it was still alive and came after her again. She struggled to get her knife from her belt and called for me and Daryl.

Daryl heard her but hung back. I went to go help her but he held his hand out, blocking me from getting to her. Beth seen that he did this and fought harder against the walker. She finally got her knife out of her belt and stabbed it into the walkers skull. It fell with a thud to the ground.

"What the hell, Daryl!" Beth called out.

"Ya said you didn't need our help, remember?" Daryl said flatly.

Beth looked like she was regretting saying that now. She needed us more than she would care to admit. She was terrified in that moment and tried to react as fast as she could. She would think twice about saying something dumb like that to either of us again.

It was a dick move but, daryl definitely proved his point.

We made our way into what looked like a shop part of the clubhouse. Like where you could buy t-shirts and golf clubs and dumb shit like that. In the middle of the shop, propped like mannequin, was a body of a woman with a sign hanging around her neck which said "Rich Bitch."

Beth grabbed a towel that was laying on the ground and went to drape it over the body, to cover it out of respect. Daryl seen her and said "It makes no difference" before angrily walking to the other side of the room. Just then a grandfather clock started chiming loudly. The noise drew walkers that had been wandering around but hadn't noticed our presence yet. They all started filing into the shop and after us. Daryl grabbed a golf club and started swinging it into walkers heads. Beth got scared and backed into a wall and stood there.

I grabbed my tomahawk and started to help Daryl. Though, he was swinging more wildly and was now in a rage. Finally we got all of them taken care of and Daryl threw down the golf club in anger. I looked at him but said nothing. I knew he was taking out his frustrations from what happened back at the prison. It was his way of dealing and I would not stop him.

Beth noticed a door that opened into the clubhouses bar.

"Finally!" she exclaimed as she walked into the room.

Daryl and I followed after her and made sure the room was clear. When we seen it was, Beth made her way to the bar. Most of the alcohol was gone. There was half a bottle of peach schnapps left and she picked it up and looked at it for a moment. She found a glass and started to pour her drink. Daryl just stood back and looked at her in irritation.

"Beat up the walkers if it makes you feel better...I need to do this" Beth said to Daryl.

She looked at the glass for another long moment. Suddenly she burst into tears. I felt bad for her. Daryl only seemed to get more irritated. He walked over to her and poured the glass out onto the floor.

"What did you do that for!?" Beth yelled at Daryl.

"I ain't having your first drink be no damn peach schnapps" Was all he replied with before grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the bar.

He motioned with his head for me to follow them and we made our way out of the clubhouse and back into the woods. We walked for a long time before we finally came to a cabin that was tucked away from everything. We stopped and looked at it for a minute before Daryl spoke.

"Michonne and I found this on one of our runs" Daryl said while pointing to the cabin. He said nothing else and made his way to the front door. He opened it and it was all clear inside.

He told Beth to sit down and he disappeared into one of the rooms in the back. He came back with a crate of jars that had clear liquid in it. He hands a jar to Beth and said "Here, a real first drink."

Beth sniffed it and then took a small sip. She made a disgusted face at the taste of the liquid but kept taking sip after sip. It didn't take long for her to start getting a little drunk. Moonshine tended to do that to people, and a lightweight like Beth, There was no hope for her. She started insisting Daryl and I drink with her. Daryl refused at first, he said someone needed to keep watch. Beth was persistent though.

After hounding the both of us for awhile we both gave in. I only drank a little though. I knew the evils of moonshine and was not about to get caught up in that mess.

Beth suggested we play a drinking game. She said her friends used to play but she never drank so she couldn't partake in it. It was called the "Never have I ever" game or some shit like that. She explained the rules and said she says something she has never done and if either of us has done it, we drink. If we say something she has never done, she drinks. Seemed simple enough.

Beth started by saying "Never have I ever fired a crossbow."

Daryl looked at me, waiting for me to take a drink along with him but, was shocked when he seen I didn't take a drink. I had never fired a crossbow before. I had used a regular bow before, though. He tore his gaze away from me and took a drink.

"Ok, you're turn Daryl" Beth said.

Daryl thought for a moment.

"Never have I ever been outta Georgia or on vacation" He finally said.

Beth smiled and took a drink. She had been out of Georgia twice on vacation. I looked at both of them and took a small sip.

"You have been out of the state before?" Beth asked me, curiously. I felt no harm in answering her question.

"I'm from South Dakota originally" I offered but said nothing else. Daryl was looking at me now. More out of curiousity than anything else, I think.

"Ok, Now your turn Natalie" Beth spoke up.

I thought about what I would say. I had no idea, there was a lot of shit I hadn't done in my life. I didn't know where to begin.

"Never have I ever had a birthday party or even a birthday cake" I finally decided to say.

Beth's mouth pulled into a frown. Daryl looked at me more intensely, I noticed, before he took a drink. Beth looked at the both of us in shock. She couldn't imagine her mom or dad not making a big deal out of her birthday. Still, she continued on.

"Ok, My turn. Never have I ever snuck into a movie theater" Beth said, trying to lighten the mood.

Daryl and I didn't take a drink. I had never snuck into a movie theater. I only remember going to the movies once in my lifetime and it was when my brother Nathan and I first came to live with our grandfather.

"Ok, Daryl, your turn." Beth urged.

"Never have I ever had a Christmas tree" He answered after thinking about it for awhile.

Beth took a drink. I did not. I had never had a Christmas tree either. Daryl waited for me to take a drink but was once again surprised when I did not.

"Ok, Natalie" Beth wanted to keep the game moving.

"Never have I ever had my own bedroom or even my own bed" I said after a moment of pondering.

Daryl took a drink, Beth did not. I could tell the both of them were getting drunk. I felt ok still, so far.

"Ok. Ok. I have one" Beth said with a chuckle. "Never have I ever been to jail" she said with a small laugh.

Daryl and I didn't take a drink.

"C'mon you guys, you're supposed to drink" Beth said with a laugh.

I could tell that pissed Daryl off.

"Is that what you think of us?" He asked Beth in an obviously pissed off tone.

"I didn't mean anything by it...I just thought since you two were so..." Beth tried to say but was cut off by Daryl.

"So what? poor trash and obviously not good people? What? Ya think you're better than us because you had everything handed to you on a silver fuckin' platter that we ain't worth a damn!?" Daryl snapped at Beth.

"I didn't mean anything by it" Beth repeated.

"Wanna know what else? My old man beat the shit out of me until I was black and blue almost weekly. My mom left when I was a baby. I ain't never had a fuckin' pony or been to prom! I was lucky I had a cooked meal once a month. I was lucky if I found a place to sleep in a house full of drunk bastards all wanting to kick my ass for just being there when I was a little boy" Daryl continued his rant.

"What about you Natalie? You have anything handed to you as easily as Beth here?" Daryl asked me, while staring daggers at Beth.

I Just shook my head no. I felt bad for Beth. I know she didn't mean anything by what she said. She was just a naive kid who had been sheltered all her life. She had absolutely no clue how people like me and Daryl lived. She thought it was just horror stories you heard from other people as a cautionary tale to keep a family on a straight and narrow path. I looked over at Beth and noticed she had started to cry.

"She's had enough Daryl. She didn't mean anything by it" I finally said to him.

"No, She's gonna learn what we're all about, Natalie!" He answered back, angrily

"I ain't about this, Daryl. I don't make little girls cry. You need to pull your shit together and stop fucking around. I understand you both lost a lot back at the prison, I get it. I ain't about to get killed because you both can't pull your heads out of your asses though. If we are going to find the others, I need you to stop acting like little bitch and buck the fuck up!" I snapped angrily at Daryl.

Daryl was shocked. Once again, I had proved I wasn't afraid of him like everyone else was. I had been the only one to ever stand up to him. He couldn't help but be impressed by me now. He had secretly held out hope of finding the others too but hadn't said anything. He didn't want to get Beth's hopes up.

Beth immediately stopped crying and stood in shock as well. It was words she needed to hear since everything had happened back at the prison. though they were harsh words, they still helped nonetheless. She felt stupid for the way she acted now.

I walked over to Beth after staring at the both of them for a few seconds. I put my hand on her shoulder and said "I know what you are going through Beth...Really, I do. This isn't the way to deal with it though."

Beth nodded and wiped the tears from her cheeks. I looked at Daryl and said "We might be the same, you and I, but if you ever yell at her like that again, I'll chop your balls off and feed them to the nearest walker, you understand me?"

Daryl's eyes shot up to mine and studied them for a second before nodding and letting out a small chuckle. He decided in that moment, he really liked me.

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**Hope you liked the new chapter. Comment and review! :)**


	5. Revelations

**WARNING: This chapter has some mentions of rape and child abuse. So if these are triggers for anyone, please do not continue reading. It is a crucial factor on building my characters background.**

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It seemed like everything had settled after Daryl's outburst at Beth earlier. Little did I know that he was still stewing about what Beth had said. Though he felt directly responsible for the events that took place at the prison; he couldn't help but be offended at her words. He knew that's what everyone thought about him back at the prison. He knew that is what everyone thought about me. It pissed him off more than anything that he let her words get to him, but he was confused because for some reason he didn't want anyone thinking bad about me. No one had given me a fair shot and neither did he for that matter. Now that he knew a little about me, he couldn't help but be interested in me.

Daryl sat, lost in his thoughts when he heard a noise outside the cabin door. He eased himself up from where he was sitting under a window and peeked outside. He seen a lone walker shuffling around by the front porch of the cabin. He looked over at Natalie, remembering she said she had never shot a crossbow before. He stood up and grabbed his weapon.

"Natalie, c'mere." He said.

I brought my gaze up to his and raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?" I said with a hint of concern in my voice and quickly getting up.

"I want ta show you somethin' " Was all he said.

I slowly got behind him as he stood at the door. He picked up his weapon and nodded towards the door, indicating he wanted me to open it. I nodded back at him and opened the door. He let loose a single arrow and I seen it hit a walker right in the shoulder, pinning it to the tree it was shuffling by.

The walker let out a growl at the sight of us and tried to move towards us but it was pinned. Daryl walked slowly over to the walker and inspected his work. Satisfied it couldn't get loose, he turned towards me. He dropped his crossbow to his side and spoke.

"C'mere, I want you ta shoot this walker." he motioned to me with a nod of his head.

I walked over and he held out his crossbow to me. He held it with such ease that when I went to take it from him, the weight of it surprised me. It was actually quite heavy and I struggled to raise it and aim it. I glanced at his biceps and realized that this weapon was the reason why they were so huge. He surprised me when he stood behind me and helped me steady my arms as I held his weapon.

"Just aim it and take a deep breath and pull the trigger." he said as he stood behind me and held my arms up, slightly positioning them in the manner they needed to be.

I noticed Beth had come and stood on the porch of the cabin. She looked very uncomfortable at the situation that was taking place. The walker was starting to make a lot of noise and struggling against the arrow that had it pinned to the tree. If I was honest, I wasn't comfortable with this situation either. I seen no point in using walkers for target practice; Even if Daryl was trying to teach me something.

"Aim for it's other shoulder." Daryl said into my ear as he stood behind me.

"Daryl...I...I don't think this is right..." I heard Beth say from the porch.

"Quiet, Girl." Was all he said to her.

"She's right, Daryl. This isn't right." I said.

"It's fine. You're goin' ta learn how ta use this weapon." He said to me and held his grip on my arms tighter.

"Now focus and aim, dammit." He added angrily.

"No." Was all I said as I shrugged his hands off my arms.

I dropped his crossbow to my side, secretly thankful I didn't have to hold up the heavy weapon anymore. He snatched it out of my hands and aimed it at the walker. He hit it in the shoulder first.

"See, it ain't that damn hard to shoot these fuckers." He said, his voice full of anger and irritation.

I looked over at Beth. I could tell she was getting scared by Daryl's temper again and she didn't dare open her mouth to protest what he was doing. Just then I heard another arrow being let loose. It hit the walker in the stomach.

"They don't give one single fuck if ya use them as a target. All they care about is rippin' your god damn face off!" He shouted angrily at me.

"Keep your voice down, Daryl" I heard Beth say almost in a whisper.

"WHY!? I don't give a fuck if walkers hear me. Let 'em come for me. Let 'em tear me apart. It's no more than I deserve!" He said, his voice cracking and shakey.

All of a sudden, Daryl shocked Beth and I when he suddenly burst into tears. He turned himself away from us and sobbed into his hand while the other held his crossbow at his side. I froze; I had no idea what to do. I looked at Beth and I could tell she had no idea what to do either. I wasn't sure if I should comfort him or just leave him be. My head was screaming to just let him work it out himself. He would surely reject me if I tried to comfort him. My heart told me I needed to help him, Hold him, comfort him. No one deserved to be left alone in such a state as his.

I swallowed hard as a lump in my throat began to form. There was no way I was leaving him like this. I made a sudden bold move and walked up behind him. I slowly eased my arms around him and pulled him close to me. I felt him jump a little. I was certain he was going to tell me to fuck off and I waited for the string of profanities to leave his mouth. It never happened though.

I felt him drop his guard completely and sob harder. He brought his hand to my arms and clung to them. I made a move and started to ease myself in front of him. He didn't pull away and actually threw his arms around my waist and buried his head into my shoulder. I felt my shirt start to dampen from his tears. I put one arm over his shoulder and one on the back of his neck.

"It's ok, Daryl" I repeated over and over and began stroking his hair.

He only clung to me harder. Suddenly, We felt another pair of arms wrap around us. I looked up and seen Beth clinging to the side of us. She had tears rolling down her cheeks. Daryl didn't move, like I thought he would.

"Daryl, it's not your fault." I heard Beth say.

She knew that he blamed himself for everything that had happened back at the prison. I had no idea what they had been through before I came along but I thought that they needed to get through this together, and I should leave them to it now. I tried to pull away once Beth was there but Daryl held me tighter and wouldn't let me go. He raised his eyes up to mine finally. They were swollen from crying and still had tears streaming out of them.

"I could'a stopped all this" He got out finally as his bottom lip quivered.

"There was nothing that could have been done, Daryl." Beth replied, even though he was still looking at me.

"Yes there is, I had a shot at the governor, back at Woodbury...and I didn't take it." He said with renewed anger in his voice. Though, now, the anger was toward himself.

"If I would'a just kept lookin' for him with Michonne, this would'a never happened. Your daddy would still be alive." He added as he looked down at Beth.

I instinctively backed away as Beth pushed her way in between Daryl and I. She hugged him tightly and they both began to cry again.

"It's ok, Daryl. It's not your fault. You're a good man and I know you did everything you could for us." Beth said, reassuringly.

They finally stopped embracing and stood there, Looking at each other. Daryl stopped crying and I could tell he was now embarrassed that he lost control like that, that he let himself cry in front of us. He tried to walk off but I grabbed his hand and held it, so he had to stay where he was. I gave him a smile, letting him know that it didn't matter that he cried. He wasn't weak, he was human. He nodded finally when he understood that it didn't matter and relaxed a bit.

I let go of his hand after a minute and then realized the walker was still alive and stuck to the tree. I walked over and put my tomahwak through it's skull. After we all made our way to the porch and sat down. I was against the cabin wall and Daryl sat next to me. Beth leaned up against the railing of the porch, directly across from us. We all sighed and sat quietly for awhile, watching the sun set and the night take over.

Beth finally broke the silence. She always wanted to know certain things about us and she felt that since we all shared such a meaningful moment together, she would finally ask.

"What did you do before all this, Daryl?" She asked.

I had no idea that back at the prison, everyone had bets going on what Daryl was before the Apocalypse. Some guessed that he was a detective or something to do with the police force. Some guessed he was a bouncer at one of those rough biker bars. Nobody knew for sure but, they knew he had to have been a total badass.

Daryl raised an eyebrow up at her. He stayed quiet for a minute and Beth thought he just wasn't going to answer, like usual. He surprised us both when he spoke finally.

"You wanna know what I was?" he asked Beth.

She nodded and gave him a small smile.

"Nothin'." he said.

The smile disappeared from Beth's face.

"All I did was follow Merle around and do whatever the hell he told me. None of it good..." He added.

Beth stayed quiet and I looked over at Daryl who was now looking at me.

"You're a good man, now." Beth spoke up after thinking about it for a second.

Daryl only puffed air out of his mouth and rolled his eyes.

"You are, Daryl Dixon. You are one of the best. You have done so much for us and you didn't have to. You are not the person you think you are. I couldn't do half the stuff that you have done for everyone...and I thank you." Beth said with a small smile.

Daryl blushed but we couldn't see since it was dark.

"You will be one of the last one's standing, Daryl Dixon...and I know you're gonna miss me when i'm gone." she added with another small laugh.

"You ain't goin' nowhere, girl." He said matter-of-factly.

Beth only smiled and then turned her attention to me.

"And what about you, Natalie?" She asked.

I looked up at her. I knew what she was asking but decided to play coy.

"What about me?" I asked.

"What did you do before?" She asked.

I didn't know that people at the prison also had bets going about what I had been before all this. Some guessed I was a college student. Some asshole even guessed that I had been a stripper. _"There's no way she couldn't have been one, with a body and attitude like that."_ one guy told Daryl. I had no idea Daryl put him in his place shortly after.

Normally, I would have just got up and walked away when people started getting personal with me. I answered her for some reason, though. I answered everything that she asked me after that.

"I was nothing." I said.

Beth couldn't helped but be surprised as she was one of the ones who had thought I was a college student.

"Nothing? Really?" Beth managed to get out.

"Yep." I answered flatly.

"Do you have family?" she asked with hesitation.

I stayed quiet for a moment. Beth thought that maybe she had crossed a line but, I finally answered.

"I had an older brother...Nathan." I said with a smile as I began to remember his face.

"I had a grandfather too. His name was Wayne." I added.

"What happened to them...if I may ask?" Beth said while looking at me cautiously, still looking for a sign that she was crossing a line with me.

"They died." I said flatly.

"How?" Daryl asked, which surprised me.

I would have ended the conversation right then and there, normally. I felt compelled to tell them though. I don't know...I felt like I was beginning to trust them and knew they wouldn't judge me.

"My grandfather died protecting me and my brother from a walker...and my brother died protecting me from some men a short time after." I said, a little scared to be revealing so much about me.

"Protecting you from men?" Beth asked naively.

I stayed quiet for a minute. Beth was sure she had crossed a line now and was about to apologize until I started to speak.

"He died when he tried to go after the men who raped me at one of the camps we stayed in." I said, all the words rushing out in a fast sentence.

Daryl felt his blood boil at this admission. Beth gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. I seen her eyes start to tear up.

"I am so sorry, Natalie, I didn't know." Beth managed to get out.

"No one does, don't worry about it." I said flatly, although a hint of sadness was now washing over me.

"If I was there, you can damn sure bet those sons o' bitches would have got what was comin' ta them." Daryl said, unable to hide the anger in his voice.

I felt comforted by his words. Though what had happened was the past and Nathan tried to avenge me, there was nothing I could do about it now. I felt like Daryl meant what he said, that he would have protected me, that he would protect me now and as long as he was around he wouldn't let anything like that happen to me or Beth.

We sat silently for another moment before Beth pressed on.

"What about your parents?" she asked, losing the caution she had before, since I revealed something so private with them.

I still felt compelled to answer, even though _THIS_ was the subject that I told _NO ONE_ about.

I shrugged my shoulders and gulped down the little saliva that I had in my mouth, hard.

"Nate and I got taken away from them when I was 8 and he was 10." I answered slowly.

"Why?" Beth questioned more.

Daryl could see I was uncomfortable. He was about to tell me I didn't have to answer if I didn't want to when I cut him off before he could open his mouth.

"They abused us...badly..." was all I answered with though.

I could see Beth wanted to ask more about it and I could see Daryl understood all too well what I meant. I felt the need to show Beth, Just so she would understand how much this subject hurt me; my scars.

I sat up from the ground and turned around. I knelt down on my knees, in full view of them both and lifted up the back of my shirt. Beth gasped in horror and Daryl quickly brought his gaze down. He had scars of his own that no one knew about. He was always so careful to cover them. Beth seen that I had scars from an extension cord across my back, that my dad used to beat me with and I had cigarette burns scattered all over the place. Those were from my moms doing.

I pulled my shirt back down and went and sat back down. Beth had tears rolling down her cheeks. She sat silently, looking at me for a minute.

"Thank you for showing me...I understand now." Beth finally said and sat up and hugged me.

When she sat back down, Daryl surprised me when he grabbed my hand and held it. He looked over at me and gave me a knowing look and squeezed my hand lightly.

We sat in silence after. There was no more that I needed to say at that moment.

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**Hope you liked this chapter! You got a little glimpse of Natalie's past and her current struggles. Comment and review! They keep me motivated to keep writing this story!**


	6. Hope

**New Chapter! Hope you all enjoy!**

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After sitting in silence for awhile, still on the porch of the cabin, Daryl finally spoke.

"This place reminds me of my old man..." He said while glancing around the litter filled porch.

"Even all the bullshit inside looks like the crap he used ta have layin' around. This whole place reminds me of bein' a kid and livin' in filth like this." He waved a finger, motioning to the front door of the cabin.

He got quiet for a moment again.

"No wonder me and Merle turned out the way we did..." He said, with a hint of sorrow in his voice.

Beth brought her gaze up to Daryl's. It had been an emotional night and the moonlight did her no favors by glistening off the tears that filled her eyes. She hated what Daryl and l had been through when we were growing up. She never knew people could be so cruel, especially to their own children. It was quite a shock to a sheltered girl like herself. She wanted to help us get over our pain she knew we were still carrying because of our pasts. She sat quietly for a few moments before getting an idea.

"Lets burn it down." She said thoughtfully and in a nonchalant tone.

Daryl looked up at her and was confused.

"What?" he asked, unsure of what she was suggesting.

"The cabin! lets burn it down!" Beth answered with a bit of excitement in her voice now.

"You're crazy, girl." Daryl said dismissively.

"You said this place reminds you of your childhood...and I can tell it makes you sad, Daryl. I don't want you to hurt anymore. Think of it as starting over...Think of the fire as cleansing you and you being reborn from the ashes!" Beth suggested enthusiastically.

"Come on Natalie, It will be good for you too!" she added, trying to convince us both to go along with her plan.

"Every walker for miles will be attracted to this place. Are you prepared for that?" I asked Beth.

"Well then, we will just have to get out of here before they get here!" She answered.

I stared off into the woods for a minute. If it would help Daryl, I would go along with it. Maybe he could finally let go and move on from his past. I didn't see how it would help me, though.

"Lets do it..." I finally answered.

Daryl glanced over at me. He could hardly believe I would go along with this plan. He was about to laugh us off and tell us to get serious, until he looked around the porch again, then at the front yard and then to the front door of the cabin. This place really could have been the house he grew up in. He suddenly remembered how much he hated his father and rage began to fill him.

"Fuck it..." He said and got up and went into the cabin.

He was in there for a few minutes and I was starting to think what we had suggested made him mad. He came out finally, though. He was holding what little belongings we had, the last of the moonshine and a book of matches he had found. He told us to get off the porch and he threw the last of the alcohol onto it. He lit the matches and stared at them for a second. Then, like nothing, tossed the lit matches onto the porch. The cabin was engulfed in flames within a few minutes.

Beth stood back and admired Daryl's work. She had a huge grin on her face as she stood between the two of us. Suddenly she raised her middle finger up to the cabin and let out a laugh. Daryl looked over at her and stared. She nudged him and he let out a small laugh at the sight of her. He then raised his middle finger up to the cabin too.

"FUCK YOU!" Beth yelled to the cabin, as if it had feelings.

That made me laugh finally. The three of us were now standing there like a bunch of crazy people, laughing and flipping off a cabin.

Our good time was over almost as quickly as it began. We could hear walkers making their way toward us. The brightness of the flames and smell of the smoke attracted them.

"We gotta get movin'." Daryl said.

We all gave the cabin one last glance and then we were off.

We wandered through the woods for most of the night. We were careful about making too much noise and killed off any walkers we came across, which surprising wasn't that much. They must have all headed to the burning cabin. It wasn't long before the sun came up and only then did we stop and rest. Daryl took first watch even though I offered to take it first, so he could get some much needed sleep. Daryl was Daryl though...couldn't really argue with him.

Beth and I laid down and tried to get some rest. She fell asleep rather quickly but I just laid there with my eyes closed, yet wide awake. I couldn't shut my brain off and let it rest. I heard every little noise and felt every sensation that hit my body. That's how I knew Daryl was staring at me while we laid there. I felt his eyes on me and quite frankly, it was keeping me awake. I opened one eye quickly and seen him staring at me. He noticed that I had opened my eye and was looking at him. His face turned red and he quickly looked away.

I laughed internally to myself. I shut my eye and finally fell asleep.

I awoke a few hours later. Beth and Daryl were both awake and talking quietly to each other. I sat up, yawned and stretched.

"Were we being too loud? We were trying to let you sleep." Beth asked.

"Nah, my back was starting to hurt is all, you guys didn't wake me." I answered

"You okay?" Daryl asked with concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. So what were you two talking about?" I asked.

"Daryl said he'd teach me to hunt with his crossbow!" Beth answered with excitement in her voice.

This was the most conversation Daryl had ever had with anyone and for him to offer to teach Beth how to hunt and use his crossbow, well, she felt like she was finally making a breakthrough with him. It's something she thought would never happen in a million years.

"Oh? that's cool." I answered with a small laugh. I dont think she knew just how heavy that thing was.

"Yeah, fig'ered she should learn how ta hunt and track. Ya know, just in case..." Daryl said before he started to trail off.

I only nodded.

"Okay! Lets get going!" Beth spoke up excitedly.

Daryl held out his crossbow to her and she grabbed it, instantly letting it hit the ground as soon as she took it into her hands. Her eyes widened the same way mine did when I first held it and then she realized what she had gotten herself into. There was no way Daryl would let her get out of it now. I couldn't help but let out a laugh at the look on her face.

"Lets go, princess." Daryl told Beth with a smirk on his face.

She struggled to raise it but soon had a good grip on the weapon. It wasn't long before Daryl found a trail for her to follow.

"What does that look like to ya?" He asked Beth.

"Umm...I don't know." Beth answered honestly.

"See how there is only one foot print and then a dragging trail next ta it? He asked as he pointed to the tracks.

"Yeah." Beth replied.

"That'sa walker. It's left leg is draggin' when it walks." He showed her.

"OH! I see it now!" Beth said with excitement.

Daryl only chuckled.

"It's an old track, So we ain't gotta worry about it bein' close." He said more to himself than to Beth.

"Follow it, see where it leads." He added as he looked over at Beth.

Beth nodded and slowly followed the old tracks, the crossbow raised with shakey arms. The weapon was starting to take it's toll on her and her arms felt like they were on fire from holding it up for so long. She really admired Daryl for being able to carry it like he did.

"The tracks disappear right here." Beth called out.

"The rain must have washed the rest of them away." she added.

"Yeah, it's a bit muddy up here now." Daryl answered.

"See, Soon I won't need you Daryl Dixon! I can go off hunting by myself!" Beth said with smuggness.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, princess." Daryl replied with sarcasm.

Beth was a little bit ahead of us and she failed to notice the animal trap that was ahead of her. She walked right into and and it snapped down onto ther ankle. She let out a muffled scream, as she tried to stifle herself so she wouldn't attact any nearby walkers.

Daryl and I ran to her as fast as we could.

"Fuck!" Daryl said when he seen the trap around her foot.

Beth had tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried to hold back her sobs. Daryl told her to be still and he would open the trap.

"As soon as I open it, slide her foot out as fast as ya can but be careful with it." He told me.

I nodded and he began to open to the trap. He got it open after pulling it apart and held it open long enough for me to get her foot out. As soon as it was out he let the trap snap shut again.

"Let me look at it." I told Beth.

I carefully pulled off her boot and gently pulled down her sock. The boot stopped it from breaking the skin but it was turning purple already.

"Can you move it?" I asked her.

She slowly wiggled her foot and the pain made her wince.

"Well, it's not broken, it looks like it's sprained pretty bad though." I told Daryl.

"Dammit..." Daryl said as he put a hand on the back of his neck and slowly turned and looked around.

Off in the distance, Daryl noticed something white, through the trees.

"Look." He said pointing in the direction of what he was looking at.

"Is that a building?" I said while squinting my eyes.

"Maybe...Only one way ta find out" He answered.

"I can't walk, Daryl. You two go and check it out." Beth suggested.

"Like hell I'm leavin' you here..." Daryl shot back.

He turned his backpack around so it was on the front of him and draped the crossbow strap over his shoulder before he told Beth to stand up.

"What are you doing?" Beth asked.

"I'm gonna carry you. What'sit look like?" He replied.

"I'm way too heavy, Daryl!" Beth suggested.

Daryl only rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, your a real elephant!" He said sarcastically.

I let out a laugh.

Beth glared at us both before she finally hopped onto Daryl's back, Piggyback style. We slowly made our way towards what Daryl seen and sure enough, it was a building. There was a graveyard in front of it.

"This must'a been a funeral home." Daryl said as we made our way towards the house.

Beth asked Daryl to put her down and she painfully limped beside him. He was on high alert and it only got worse the closer we got the the house. Beth suddenly stopped in front of a large gravestone. She looked at it in silence for a minute before Daryl came up behind her and read what the gravestone said.

_"Father"_ Was what it said with only the date of birth and the date of the death.

Beth suddenly grabbed Daryl's hand and held it tight. I knew they were both thinking about Hershel. I let them have their moment as I stood back and watched. After a minute Daryl finally suggested we make our way to the house. He picked Beth back up and carryed her up to the door.

"Stay right here and Natalie and I will check the place out." He told Beth.

We opened the door and seen nothing. Daryl whistled to see if any walkers would make their way towards us. The place was empty. We slowly checked the rooms and made sure the place was clear before we were confident enough to relax.

"The place looks clean." Beth said as she sat on a chair in the kitchen.

"Yeah, someone must live here." I suggested.

"Well, if they show up we will just explain that we were only lookin' for a place to sleep for the night. We don't mean them no harm." Daryl replied.

Beth nodded, satisfied with this answer.

"Lets see if they got somethin' ta eat." Daryl suggested.

"Don't you think that will make them mad? us taking their food?' Beth asked.

"Well, we'll just deal with that when it happens." Daryl answered, he honestly didn't care at this point. He was starving.

Daryl began opening cupboards around the kitchen and was shocked when he found a full supply of food. They had peanut butter, bottles of soda, canned goods and his eyes widened in disbelief when he found a jar of pickled pigs feet.

"Oh my god! Look at this!" He held up the jar like it was the Holy Grail.

"Eww! What the heck is that!?' Beth screeched.

"This is good eatin', girl!" He answered with pure joy in his voice.

This was the first time I seen Daryl this excited over something.

"Well you can just eat that by yourself!" Beth said with digust in her voice.

"Good 'cause I wasn't offerin'!" Daryl said with a laugh.

Beth punched him in his arm playfully.

We all sat down and ate our feast that we put out in front of us. Though it wasn't a typical feast by any means, it was one to us. The soda still had fizz to it surprisingly and the canned fruits and meats were plentiful.

"We should stay here...I mean, maybe whoever is staying here would let us stay..." Beth suggested after we all had got done eating.

Daryl had to admit. He was pondering it. He was tired and didn't want to constantly be moving anymore.

"Maybe...Maybe they are good people...Maybe they'd let us stay..." He said what he was thinking aloud.

"Daryl Dixon! Are you suggesting there are good people out there still? What changed your mind?" Beth asked teasingly.

Daryl only shrugged and mumbled out an _"I don't know."_

Beth's tone got serious.

"No really. What changed your mind?" She persisted.

Daryl lifted his gaze to her then over to me but still said nothing. I knew right then we had been the ones to change his mind. Beth finally got it after a minute too.

"Oh..." Was all she said and gave a slight smile.

She swelled with pride secretly. She was quite proud that she had been the one to break down the two most feared and stubborn peoples walls.

We all fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments. I was starting to get antsy after awhile though and got up and checked out the rest of the kitchen. I tinkered with things and looked at different stuff. I absent mindedly flipped on the faucet but was startled when water came rushing out of it.

"No way." Daryl said as he sat back in his chair in utter disbelief.

"They have their own water supply?" Beth asked.

"They must." He answered.

We all looked around at each other before Daryl got up and shot towards the kitchen door. I quickly followed after him. We both raced up the stairs and ran towards the bathroom like little kids on Christmas day. Beth was hollering at us from the bottom of the stairs, asking us what we were doing. I pushed passed Daryl and got to the bathroom first. I opened the shower curtain and turned the faucet on. Water sputtered out of the shower head and then pushed out at full power.

"I have never been so happy to see a working shower in my entire life!" I said as I ran my hand under the water.

"You girls can go first." Daryl said in reply.

"Ah, what a gentleman!" I said jokingly.

"S'nothin'." He said with a smile.

After we all took our turn taking showers. We finally settled in the parlor of the house. There was a casket in the middle of it but that was a small detail we were all willing to overlook.

"It's getting pretty late...Do you think whoever lives here will be back soon?" Beth asked.

Daryl pushed the curtain to the window aside and looked out. The sun was setting and he knew if they were going to stay there he was going to have to make the house safe for the night.

"My guess is they would'a been back by now. It's not a smart move ta leave a house this stocked with supplies and running water, alone for too long..." Daryl suggested.

"I'll block the entrance and the back door...The windows are pretty high up so we ain't gotta worry 'bout no walkers gettin' in that way." He added.

"What about sleeping situations?" Beth asked.

"Well theres two rooms upstairs. I fig'er you girls take one room and i'll take the other." Daryl answered.

Beth frowned. She didn't want them all in seperate rooms. Even though they were safe inside a house and Daryl was blocking the entrances, she was still afraid.

"I don't think that's a good idea...What if whoever lives here,comes back. We will all be seperated..." She said.

Daryl hadn't thought of that.

"Alright, we all sleep in the same room, just for tonight. If whoever lives here ain't back by tomorrow...my guess is they ain't comin' back." He replied.

Daryl blocked the front and back doors and double checked everything. Better safe than sorry. When he was satisfied nothing was getting in, he finally relaxed. It was dark now and everyone was exhausted. No one had really got any decent amount of sleep in a week. They all piled into the room and seen one huge bed right in the center of it.

Beth and I plopped down into the bed and curled up under the covers. Daryl automatically went to make his bed on the floor.

"What are you doing, Daryl Dixon?" Beth yelled out.

Daryl froze and looked at the blanket he had in his hand. He was about to hand it to her, He thought she was mad because he was using it. He extended his arm to hand it over to her.

"No, I mean, You are not laying on that cold, hard floor!" She demanded.

"Get your ass in this bed right now! there is more than enough room for the three of us!" She demanded.

He looked her over for a second, not sure what to do. He had never laid in the same bed with two girls before, much to his embarrassment, and he would never admit that out loud.

_"Is she fuckin' with me?"_ He thought.

"Now!" Beth shouted.

"Yes, ma'am..." He finally said, shocked she was being so demanding.

He crawled into the bed and laid next to me, where I was laying in the middle. Although he felt awkward at first, he had to admit, it was a hell of a lot better than sleeping on the floor. The bed was comfortable and exhaustion finally got the better of him and he quickly fell asleep. So there we were, three people to one bed and not one of us caring about the sleeping arrangement. None of us would have thought we would be in this situation just a week ago.

**XXXX**

Daryl stirred as the sun shined through the window and into his eyes. He felt movement in front of him and remembered who he was in the bed with after a second of disorientation. He realized, much to his horror, that he had pulled me close to him during his sleep and draped his arm over me, and his hand was now firmly cupped against my breast.

I opened my eyes, felt a hand on my boob and looked down at it. Just at that moment I heard Daryl.

"OH FUCK! I'm so sorry...I...I didn't know...I must'a...In my sleep...Sorry!" He yelled as he jerked his hand away and quickly jumped up out of the bed.

"What's going on!?" Beth sat up quickly.

Daryl was bright red by now and he didn't want Beth to know what he had done. I picked up on this immediately.

"Nothing, Daryl accidently kicked me in his sleep is all." I told Beth.

Daryl was relieved. He thought for sure I would have yelled at him and made a big deal about it. It was an accident, though he secretly enjoyed the contact. He would never tell me that though. The last thing he wanted was for me to think he was some type of pervert.

_"Am I a pervert?...she is only nineteen and I am thirty...a'course I am one. What nineteen year old would want me touchin' them? I'm lucky she didn't kick me in the balls..."_ he thought.

"Oh my gosh...who cares!? I'm going back to sleep!" Beth said in an irritated tone.

"I uh...I'm gonna go check the doors..." Daryl said as he tried to clear his throat and still quite embarrassed.

I only smiled and nodded, Letting him know it wasn't a big deal. He nodded and backed away, hitting the dresser before moving away from it and fumbling to find the door knob behind him. I only smiled bigger, seeing his nervousness. I would have never in a million years thought Daryl Dixon could be a bumbling idiot when he got nervous...or that he would even get nervous in the first place.

Daryl finally made his way out into the hallway and shut the bedroom door behind him.

_"What a fuckin' dumbass ya are..."_ He thought to himself and mentally kicked himself over and over.

He sighed deeply before finally making his way down the stairs to check the doors.

"This is gonna be a long fuckin' day" He said quietly to himself as he inspected his work he had placed in front of the doors the night before.

* * *

**How did you like the chapter? Comment and review! :)**


	7. Birthday Presents

**New chapter! Hope you all enjoy! ;)**

* * *

_Daryl's inner thought POV:_

I checked and then double checked the barricade I made at both entrances of the house. Convinced they would still keep out any walkers, I sort of let myself relax finally. I went and sat in a chair that was in the parlor of the house, and started absentmindedly chewing on the skin of my thumb, which I often did when I was lost in thought. I heard the girls come down the stairs and make their way into the kitchen, finally, after waiting most of the morning for them to get up.

I made no move to get up, though. I was still embarrassed about what happened this morning. I could hardly believe it. After everything that had happened to the world and the state that it was now in...I was embarrassed over grabbing a tit. Why was it affecting me so much, I wondered. I didn't want to admit that it was because I actually had feelings for Natalie, that I actually cared for the first time in my life, what someone thought about me. I pushed that thought deep down though. No way in hell would a girl like Natalie ever go for someone like me...Even though we both had similar backgrounds and pretty much the same attitude. We could relate to each other, totally.

I tried to shake off the thought of her and focus on what needed to be done for the day. I thought I could busy myself with stuff around the house and completely avoid Natalie until what happened this morning was forgotten. No such luck, though.

**XXXX**

I made my way into the parlor of the house and found Daryl sitting in a chair by the window. He was chewing on his thumb, which I noticed he did a lot when his hands weren't busy. He needed a distraction if he wasn't busy and that was his comfort technique. He was lost in thought, I noticed and called out to him, which startled him.

"Did you eat yet?" I asked.

Daryl broke his concentration for a moment and only nodded before looking away from me again. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair when he seen I hadn't retreated into the kitchen.

"You need somethin'?" He asked finally after I had been staring at him for a few moments.

"No." I replied and continued to stare.

"Then get them beady little eyes off me, girl." He tried to sound irritated but he sounded more nervous than anything.

"Alright..." I said and let out a small chuckle before turning to go back into the kitchen.

As I got back into the kitchen, Beth had already started eating a can of fruit she found and drinking a cup of soda. I looked at her meal choice and laughed.

"Breakfast of champions, right?" I teased her.

"Hey, it's better than nothing! I almost forgot how much I missed the taste of peaches..." She said as she picked up the can of fruit and glanced at the label.

Beth put the can down and pulled a small book from her back pocket of her jeans. She opened it up and started to write something in it.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Oh...Just a small planner I found, It has a calendar in it. I mark each day off as we go along...you know, just to keep track." She answered thoughtfully...as if the date still mattered.

"Yeah? What day is it?" I asked, more to make conversation than anything else. I didn't really care what day it was.

"August 16th" Beth answered.

I got quiet for a moment and Beth took notice.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing...It's nothing." I answered.

"No, really. What's wrong?" She pressed on.

I sat silently for a moment before I finally let out a small laugh.

"It's my birthday..." I said as I raised my gaze up to hers.

"Oh my gosh! Really!" Beth shouted excitedly.

"Daryl!" she yelled out.

"What?" he answered back from the parlor.

"Today is Natalie's birthday!" she answered back with even more excitement.

Daryl made his way to the door of the kitchen.

"That true?" He asked me.

"Yeah, according to Beth's calendar..." I replied.

"Let's not make a big deal out of this." I added.

"Are you kidding!? This is something to celebrate!" Beth shot back, irritated that I wasn't making a big deal out of it like she was.

Daryl only stared at me. He understood that birthday's were no big deal, especially if you never celebrated them before anyway. He couldn't help but want to make this day special, though. It is a big deal to make it to another birthday in this world, nowadays.

"We have to do something special for you, Natalie!" Beth finally said.

I laughed.

"What could we possibly do? Hire a clown and have cake?" I said sarcastically.

Daryl burst into laughter. That was the first time I had heard him laugh that way.

"You guys are jerks! You know we can't do nothing like that! I meant we could do something together, ya know. To make this day memorable...Since I can't bake a cake and hire a clown." Beth said with a laugh finally.

"Whatever you want, Beth." I replied. Only agreeing to appease her. She was showing her bossy side lately, I had to admit, I liked it. At least she wasn't timid Beth or her polar opposite, bitchy Beth.

"Okay! It's settled! I'm going to think of something and leave you guys to it." She said as she got up from the table. She hobbled her way up the stairs, as her leg was still injured.

Daryl stood in the doorway to the kitchen still. He cleared his throat after a moment and spoke.

"I uh, I'm gonna take a look around outside..." He said as he motioned to the front door with his thumb.

"I'll go with you." I said, not wanting to be alone in the house with Beth-the-crazy-birthday-lady.

Daryl felt butterflies in his stomach. He quickly scolded himself, mentally. _"What are ya? a teenage girl?"_ He thought to himself. _"Get your shit together, Dixon."_ His brain screamed.

He nodded finally after looking me over for a moment. Once we moved the stuff piled in front of the doors to the side a little, only enough for us to get out, did we breath in the air from the outside. It was hot already but it felt good to be outside.

"So what did you want to look at?" I asked him.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothin' in particular. Just want to see what's around here is all." he replied.

There were no walkers around, which was sort of strange but we thought nothing of it. We were just thankful we didn't have to deal with any at the moment. We made our way around the house, looking at everything and nothing. We made our way to a shed in the back of the house. It had a lock on it.

"Think we can get in there?" I asked him.

"Not sure. Gonna need some bolt cutters...or keys. What are the odds of findin' keys though?" he asked more to himself than to me.

"Maybe we could look in the house for some. I mean you gotta be a complete dumbass to lock up a shed and leave _ALL_ your tools in there...especially with the way the world is now. Who would chance walking out here every time you needed a tool?" I said thoughtfully.

Daryl let a small smile creep across his lips. He was thinking the same thing, I just happened to say it out loud.

"You got a nice smile...You should do it more often." I said, playfully nudging his arm.

Daryl quickly stopped smiling and turned red...something that he has done more frequently in the past two days then I have ever seen anyone do.

"Look...about this morning..." I started but Daryl interrupted.

"I said I was sorry, what more do you want from me, girl?" He tried to sound angry but I could see right through him now.

"I was going to say stop worrying about it. You have been acting weird all morning and I don't like it. You act like you never felt a chick up in your life before!" I said angrily, trying to drive my point home.

"Maybe I just felt bad about it, after all that happened to ya? Ever think of that? I don't want you to think I'm trying to get one over on ya. Damn, girl. After what happened to ya you shouldn't want any man touchin' ya ever again, especially me." Daryl shot back.

"What those men did to me was fucked up, no doubt about it. You are not those men. How dare you even class yourself with the likes of them. I'm no victim. If I let what they did to me, get to me, I would have died long ago. I'm a survivor, Daryl. I thought you of all people would understand." I snapped back at him.

I started to walk away, back toward the house. I stopped and turned around to face him again.

"Don't ever tell me how I should feel about you touching me again. We clear?" I added.

Daryl stared back at me confused, but nodded anyway. He watched me as I walked away.

_"What the fuck just happened?"_ Daryl thought to himself, more confused than he has ever been about anything in his entire life.

Back inside, Beth was busying herself upstairs with whatever she was doing. I decided to take the opportunity to take a shower. I would never be able to get enough showers. I was just so in love with the idea of having running water. I thought maybe it would give me a chance to clear my head also.

I stayed in the shower for what seemed like ages. By the time I got out my fingers were like prunes. I didn't care though. It was relaxing and that's all I cared about. I got dressed and headed downstairs finally. Daryl was inside and sitting back in the same chair I found him in this morning, chewing his thumb again.

Once I entered the room, he raised his gaze up to me slowly and I could tell he was full of regret. Honestly, I was over it by now. Daryl tended to stew about things though, so I knew he was still stuck on our conversation from earlier.

"What?" I said as I threw my hand up in a questioning manner.

He looked at me with narrowed eyes, as if he was trying desperately to think about what he was going to let slip out of his mouth. He wasn't about to fuck anything else up with the shit he constantly blurted out.

He was just about to open his mouth when Beth walked in.

"Happy birthday!" she exclaimed as she handed me over a gift she had wrapped in old news paper.

The gleam she had in her eye was almost hilarious...she seriously was extremely excited about whatever was wrapped up in this newspaper. I couldn't help but break my gaze away from Daryl and look down at the makeshift present in my hands.

I shook it and it made no sound.

"What is it?" I said questioningly, almost uncertain what to do next, having never had a real present, all wrapped up like this.

"Open it for goodness sake!" Beth said with extreme gleefulness.

"Ok..." I said hesitantly.

I slowly unwrapped the gift, Glancing up at Beth after tearing open each section of newspaper and her urging me to continue after undoing each fold. Daryl looked on with curiousness, too.

After tearing all the paper away, I got to a small cloth, I unfolded the cloth to reveal a necklace inside. It was the one Beth had worn around her neck.

"What's this?" I asked curiously.

"A necklace, silly. My necklace. I thought long and hard about what I should give you. I remembered daddy gave me this necklace for my 15th birthday. It was special to me...and I wanted to give you something personal. I wasn't about to give you any of these strangers things." She said as she motioned with her hand around the house, absentmindedly.

"No...I wanted you to feel as special as I did when daddy gave this to me." She added with a smile.

I held it up and looked at it. It was a thin silver chain with a small heart on it. Inside the heart was a single diamond. A wave of emotion flooded over me suddenly and a hard lump formed in my throat.

"I...I can't accept this, Beth..." I managed to get out and tried to hand it back to her.

She only smiled.

"You can and you will!" She ordered.

She took the necklace from my hand and placed it around my neck. She pulled my hair out from the chain and looked lovingly at it.

"There. Don't it look good on her, Daryl?" She asked as she glanced over at him.

Daryl nodded and let a small smile creep across his lips again. He never thought such a small gesture could hold so much meaning. He respected Beth so much more now. He could tell Beth really had no idea what it meant to me to recieve such a gift...with so much meaning behind it.

I couldn't help it anymore. I let the tears that I was holding back, flow. I wasn't a sobbing, girly mess...but I was crying just the same. Something I never did, at least not in front of anyone. Beth gave me a small smile and then hugged me.

"Happy 20th birthday, Natalie." She said and finally pulled away.

**XXXX**

The afternoon passed and night-time settled in on us. Beth made us all dinner with what choices she had to pick from, from their food supply. This is what she wanted us all to do together, to make my birthday a memorable one. She wanted me to feel what it was like to be doted on, on my special day. It wasn't a grand birthday feast like she would have got from her family, but she made do.

It didn't matter to me though, It was all the thought and heart she put into everything. The day was perfect, even though Daryl and I had a slight hiccup earlier in the day. I had shoved that out of my mind almost as soon as it happened though. I wasn't so sure about Daryl, though. It looked like he was about to tell me something earlier before Beth came in with my present. Oh well, If it was still important, he will tell me when he felt the need.

Beth finally spoke up after finishing dinner and clearing all their plates.

"I'm pretty tired. I think I'm gonna head up to bed. I need to elevate my foot anyway, it's killing me." She said.

"Alright, we'll be up in a bit." Daryl replied.

"Um, Do you mind if I take the other room by myself tonight? You two sleep wilder than a litter of puppies." Beth said sheepishly.

Daryl let out a laugh.

"Yeah, I guess so..." He answered back.

"You ain't scared no more?" He added.

Beth smiled and nodded no.

Daryl just shrugged.

"Alright, see you in the mornin' then." He said to Beth.

Daryl brought his gaze down to the table and as Beth passed by me I looked up at her. She gave me a coy smile and a wink.

That little shit...she planned this all along. To get Daryl and I alone. I couldn't help but smile back at her, she was bold that's for sure. Though, I think she put too much stock into Daryl. He wouldn't make a move like Beth was hoping he would. No, This would be just another night of restless sleep, like always.

After Beth had made her way up the stairs and put herself to bed, Did I move to leave the kitchen table. I made my way into the parlor and looked around. I found a chair and plopped down into it. I was tired from all the emotions I felt during the day. Daryl reluctantly made his way into the parlor and just stood there. It looked like he wanted to say something but didn't know how to get it out.

Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Uh...You can take the room. I'll sleep down here...if ya want..." He added the last part to test my reaction. He wanted to see if I was still mad at him from earlier.

Truth be told, I was never mad. I was more irrtated than anything...but never mad.

"Nah, no point in you sleeping on the hard floor and having your back ache in the morning. The bed up there is big enough for the both of us." I said.

Daryl only nodded.

"We should check the barricades in front of the doors before we go up, though." I added.

We checked the doors and made sure everything was where it needed to be and finally headed up to bed. I peeked in on Beth as we passed her door and she was fast asleep. We got to our room and wasted no time on getting into bed. We were both exhausted even though neither of us would admit it.

Daryl stretched out and got comfortable and I buried my head into the pillow, getting as comfortable as I could. Not long after, my eyelids started to get heavy and I was fighting to stay awake. I was just about to close my eyes when Daryl spoke.

"You awake?" He asked softly.

His question pulled me from the sleepiness I was experiencing. I knew he was exhausted so if he was still awake and talking, I knew something was bothering him. I turned over and faced him. He turned his head so he was looking at me but remained on his back still.

"Yeah..." I answered and waited for him to continue with what he was saying.

He stayed silent for a moment. He was fighting with himself on what to say. He wanted it to be just right, whatever he let leave his mouth, but there were no gaurantees with him. He was bound to say something dumb and fuck everything up.

He sighed and finally spoke.

"I'm sorry...about earlier..." He said and waited for a reply.

"Don't worry about it, Daryl. I already moved passed that a long time ago." I finally said after staying silent for a moment.

"But I am worrying about it. I had no right to say what I said. I just thought...I dunno...forget it." He said and trailed off before he finished his sentence.

"No, Tell me." I said.

"I didn't mean no harm by it. I only said what I said 'cus I was embarrassed...by what happened. I thought you'd be mad by it and stay away from me...I ain't exactly a great guy with words and expressin' feelings and whatnot." He said with a sigh and his voice full of nervousness.

"Daryl..." I said with a sigh.

"It's not a big deal. Really. Stop beating yourself up about it. I told you, you touching me is completely different from what those men did to me...I wanted you to...I didn't want them to. There's a difference." I said, waiting to see his reaction on what I just told him.

Daryl's eyes shot up to mine. He turned onto his side and looked at me, to get a better read on me...to read my reaction.

"What?" he asked, not thinking he heard me right.

"You heard me...I wanted you to touch me." I said again.

Daryl narrowed his eyes as he looked into mine, searching for an answer, searching them to see if I was playing a cruel joke on him. When he seen I was sincere, his eyes widened. Now he was scared. Not scared in the sense like when a walker was near...but scared that someone wanted to get so close to him and wanted to be let in by him. He had never felt that before. He didn't know how to react.

I took the initiative and scooted closer to him, until my face was directly in front of his. I seen the nervousness written all over his face. He was actually scared. I didn't want him to feel that way. I slowly leaned in and kissed his lips, softly. More to calm him than anything. He tensed up at first. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. He wanted to pull away but every ounce of his being screamed at him to continue...and he did.

He finally relaxed and returned my kiss. I never thought it would be so sweet with him. He took it very slow and he was surprisingly a great kisser. After awhile, things started to heat up. Our kisses grew more desperate and things were starting to move faster. He was now on top of me, kissing me more passionately than I had ever experienced from anyone before. I knew exactly where this was headed and I was allowing it.

Daryl broke our kiss suddenly and looked into my eyes.

"Do you want this to happen?" He asked, he wanted to make sure we were both on the same page.

I nodded and gave him a smile. That was all he needed. He slowly began to undress me. Taking off each item of clothing, slowly and carefully, giving me a chance to change my mind at any time. When he seen I wanted him just as much as he wanted me, did he finally begin to undress himself. Soon, we were both naked and locked into another passionate kiss.

He broke away and looked up and down my body, taking it all in and slowly began moving his hand downward until he reached my wet center. He gently eased in a finger, then another.

"Mmm...so wet." He breathed out as he began moving his fingers in and out of my opening.

I began to move and writhe beneath him, encouraging him to continue what he was doing.

"You like that?" he asked as he looked into my eyes.

I nodded as I brought my lips up to his for another kiss. I could feel his hardness pressed against my leg.

He stopped moving his fingers and suddenly pulled them out. He brought them up to his mouth and licked the juices off as he stared into my eyes.

"So sweet..." He said when he pulled his fingers out of his mouth.

He then lined himself up with my opening and looked back into my eyes.

"You sure...?" he asked, giving me one last chance to change my mind.

I nodded.

He wasted no time and began easing himself into me. He was much bigger than anyone I had experienced before. He went slow, letting me adjust to his size before he moved. I let him know I was ready by moving my hips beneath him a little.

His movements were slow and precise, every inch of him filling me and touching all the right places. He knew exactly what to do to show me how pleasurable this could actually be. I never knew anything could feel as good as he did inside me.

After taking his time and making sure he made me feel no less than incredible and bringing me close to the edge, did he quicken his pace. The feeling of him going faster and deeper and knowing he was close to release was almost too much to handle. It felt like a coil was tightening deep within me and was seconds from snapping.

"I'm so close, Angel." He breathed out into my ear.

That was enough to push me over. My walls tightened around him and an intense heat released from my very core and spread over my entire body in one mighty tingling sensation. I dug my nails into his back and bit my lip to keep from screaming. After a few more eratic thrust from him, did he finally let himself release his hot seed inside of me.

He stayed on top of me for a few moments and steadied his breathing. He finally rolled off to my side and pulled me close to him.

''That feel good?" he asked, even though he knew the answer to his question. He just wanted to hear me say it.

"Very" I breathed out, still trying to catch my breath.

He smiled and gave me another kiss.

"Happy birthday!..." He said, breaking the silence we shared for a few minutes and then let out a laugh.

This wasn't like those romantic movies you used to watch on tv where the couple just lay in bed, looking into each others eyes lovingly for hours after. Neither of us needed that, or wanted that for that matter. We knew exactly how the other felt and knew we didn't need that type of confirmation from one another. Now we could just joke and make light of the situation. It was a nice feeling.

"Thanks! K, let's go to sleep now!" I answered back with a laugh. I pressed myself against him and got comfortable. We were both exhausted and there was no hiding that. It wasn't long before we were both fast asleep.

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**At last! Daryl and Natalie have their moment! Thanks to all those who waited patiently for Daryl to make his move! ;)**

**Thanks for reading the new chapter! As always, comments and reviews are most welcome! **


	8. Reunited

**New Chapter! Enjoy!**

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I had woken up before Daryl did, which was unusual because he was always the first one awake. Sometimes I questioned whether he even slept or not. I watched him sleep for a few moments, I couldn't help myself. He looked so peaceful, even a bit younger looking, as he slept. Like the worry, the fear and the stress of this world we were forced to live in now was washed away, just for a little while. At a time like this, I wish I had a camera, just to capture this rare moment when Daryl was totally vulnerable.

I decided not to wake him after a moments debate with myself. I knew he would be pissed that I let him sleep in but, If anyone deserved a good rest, it was him. Besides, he was probably exhausted from last nights intimate moment between the two of us. A small smile crept across my lips as I played the nights activities over in my head, while getting dressed quietly. I wondered if things were going to be awkward between us now.

I slipped out of the room, unheard, and made my way towards Beth's room. Her door was shut so I decided to just peek in on her. She was fast asleep also. I sighed and closed her door. I might as well let her sleep in too. I could handle doing the rounds of the house by myself. It was no big deal.

All I had to do was make sure the barricades on the doors were still intact and holding, Which took me all of five minutes to do. After I was done, I decided I would just wait for Beth and Daryl to wake up before I ate breakfast. I plopped down in the chair by the window in the parlor that Daryl Favored and waited.

I stared aimlessly out the window through the white lace curtains at nothing in particular. I noticed a squirrel had perched itself on the railing of the porch and was deathly still. As I let my eyes wander passed it, I seen what caused it to suddenly become very still. There was a massive herd of walkers off in the distance, making it's way up the long dirt road that lead to the funeral home.

I nearly fell backwards out of the chair as I pushed myself with enough force to scrape the chair along the wooden floor, letting the back two legs snag on the large area rug on the floor of the parlor. I caught myself and let a string of profanities leave my mouth as I scrambled to my feet. I raced up the stairs and shouted for Beth and Daryl to get up now.

Daryl was out of the room in seconds, Already dressed and crossbow at the ready. If this hadn't of been a life or death situation I would have stopped and marveled at the quickness he put himself together and was ready to go. I figured he had heard me almost falling over in the chair, and was already in the process of getting dressed before I rushed up the stairs.

Beth opened her door next. "What is it?" She demanded. She was still half asleep and trying to focus her eyes as she rubbed them furiously.

"Herd of walkers up the road." I answered back in a panic.

"How many?" Daryl asked. The stress had returned to his face and he had his usual serious look back to him.

"Hundreds." I answered, gravely. There was no way that we could fight off this many. There was no way our barricades would hold against that many. They were fine against a few of them but, this herd was hundreds strong.

"Get your shit now!" He ordered Beth.

Beth nodded and tried to move as fast as her injured ankle would let her. Daryl and I took notice of this and we both looked at each other with panic in our eyes. a minute later Beth was dressed and packed.

"What are we going to do?" Beth asked, with pure terror in her voice.

Daryl ran over to one of the windows and looked out at the herd.

"They're still up the road a bit...We're gonna have ta try and make a run for it..." he answered grimly. He knew there was no other options. With them having no vehicle to escape in, nothing was certain.

"Can't we just hide in here?" Beth suggested.

"Nah, No tellin' how long these bastards would have us in here. We would run out of food pretty quick...then what?" Daryl answered.

"She's hurt Daryl, Remember?" I interjected, pointing at Beth's ankle.

He paced and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to think of a fast fix to this situation.

"I'm fine you guys. We need to get moving if we are going to make it out of here." Beth said with urgency.

Daryl looked up at her and scratched his scruffy goatee.

"Let's go then." He said and handed me his crossbow and our bags. He suddenly grabbed Beth and hoisted her up onto his shoulder and bolted down the stairs. I had a sudden burst of adrenaline and carrying the crossbow was an easier task this time around. I strapped it around my shoulder while I was still in the process of running. and adjusting the other bags.

Daryl threw open the door to the house and shoved the makeshift barricade out of the way. Had this been any other situation, Beth would have been protesting the whole time. This was life or death, though. She kept her mouth shut and went with it. It's not like she weighed a ton anyway, otherwise Daryl would be struggling, having to carry her and run at the same time.

We made it off the porch and around the side of the house quickly. We ran towards the shelter of the woods. All the trees would be an advantage to our escape. Once we got to the treeline, Daryl set Beth down. She looked up at him with appreciation and only nodded. Daryl wouldn't want her endlessly thanking him for doing what he did. He just knew it needed to be done and did it. That was his way.

We stopped for a moment to turn back and see that the herd was nearing the house. "My god!" Beth said almost under her breath as she seen the walkers swarm the house.

"We need ta keep movin'." Daryl said finally. "Jump up on my back." He told Beth.

"Daryl, You can't carry me the whole way. You'll get tired too quickly." Beth protested.

"Stop arguin' girl. We ain't got time to be messin' around here." He said in a commanding tone.

Beth looked over at me before she hopped onto his back without further protest. He grabbed her legs once she was behind him and shifted her to a position that would be the most comfortable for the both of them. He looked over at me and his eyes softened for the first time since being rudely awakened this morning. He knew his crossbow was heavy and he felt bad about me having to carry it along with our bags but, we all had to suck it up and deal with the situation we had now found ourselves in.

We gave the house one last look, as if to say goodbye to the place we had called home for the past few days. The place where we all grew to know each other on a more deeper level than ever before. The place where Daryl and I let our guards down finally and became one.

We took off at a fast pace but were careful not to make too much noise. The herd was behind us but there could be anything ahead of us. It almost felt foreign to be out here and on high alert once again after being in such comfort and safety in the house. I didn't like the feeling. I didn't like feeling that I might have lost my touch, even in the slightest. I'm sure Daryl was feeling the same way I was. He would never show it though. He had to be our pillar of strength at the moment.

Daryl had made a promise to himself, mentally, that he would not let any harm come to me or Beth. He would fight for us til his very last breath if he needed to. In this last week alone, we had grown closer to him than even his brother Merle had been. We damn sure meant more to him than that bastard did, too. If he had to carry Beth across the ocean to get her to safety, he would do it. He didn't care if he was tired or sore, Beth was hurt and he knew I was counting on him to lead us to safety...he would do it...he would get his family to safety.

"_My family..."_ The thought hit Daryl suddenly like a ton of bricks. "_These girls are my family...I love them...I love Natalie..."_ That thought stopped him dead in his tracks.

I looked up at him. His eyes were narrowed and it looked like he was trying to figure something out in his head.

"You ok, Daryl?" I asked hesitantly.

My question seemed to snap him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm...Fine...Let's keep movin'." He answered.

We continued on in silence.

"Daryl, we've been walking for over an hour. Think we take a rest for a minute?" Beth asked sheepishly. I noticed she was looking more and more uncomfortable as time went on but she was afraid to stop Daryl, He was determined to get them somewhere safe and Beth knew interrupting him could be iffy.

Daryl stopped and looked around. It seemed clear at the moment. He decided they could take a rest for a few minutes. Besides, His back was killing him. He would never tell Beth that though. He set Beth down gently and she limped over to a tree and sat against it's trunk.

"Thank you, Daryl..." She said after a few moments of silence.

"For what?" He asked in surprise.

"You know...for saving my life...If I would have been left back there..." She started to say but was cut off by Daryl.

"I would'a never left you behind, Natalie neither, So just stop right there. We're in this together, I'll be damned if I let anything happen ta either of ya." He said in an irritated voice. Like the very thought of her getting left behind was even an option.

Beth only gave a shy smile and nodded. It comforted her to know we would protect her at all costs. She also felt bad because she knew she was a burden on us. Her injury was slowing us down and there was nothing she could do about it.

After resting for 10 or 15 minutes we decided to keep going. Beth jumped back onto Daryl's back and I scooped up all our belongings once again. We walked for most of the day until we noticed we were nearing a small neighborhood. That meant a town wasn't too far off.

"You seen these houses before?" I asked Daryl as we stopped to observe what we could of the first row of houses.

Daryl nodded. He and Michonne had passed by them before but, never got a chance to clear the area. They had been planning a scavenging mission, back at the prison before the governor attacked. They just never got a chance to pull it off.

"There's a few walkers around...Looks like we can handle 'em though." Daryl said finally after mulling over what to do in his head.

"We can take out the few walkers in the street and then we can clear that first house there." I said as I pointed to a big, white, two story house that was surrounded by a chainlink fence.

"What if someone is in there?" Beth interjected. "What if they don't want us there?" she added.

"Then we move on..." Daryl said flatly.

Beth's heart sank at the possibility that they might not be guaranteed a safe shelter for the night. She hoped against hope that everything turned out ok. She was sore and her body ached from being perched on Daryl's back all day. She could only imagine how he must feel. I had carried all our belongings plus Daryl's crossbow all day, she just felt bad all around. We needed everything to go smoothly, We desperately needed the rest.

After a forming a plan in his head. Daryl instructed that Beth stay hidden until he and I cleared the walkers in the street. There must have been about 10 or so but, together we could handle them. When we were done, we would go to the house, make sure it wasn't occupied and then clear it. After, Daryl would come back and get Beth from her hiding place.

Beth and I nodded in agreement. Daryl carried Beth over to an abandoned van that was parked near the house they were trying to get to. It was unlocked, which was a plus. It was one less thing they had to deal with. Having to quietly break into a car would have been quite a task but, Daryl could have pulled it off if need be. The windows were tinted which was also another huge bonus. Beth could easily hide in there and not be seen. She closed the door and Daryl and I quickly set off to do our part of the task.

Once the first walker seen us approaching it immediately came after us, the others heard the commotion and then followed suit. We took them out easily enough, though. We took out the last walker and now all we had to do was clear the house. I opened the gate, Daryl had his crossbow raised the whole time and we made our way to the porch. Daryl gave me a quick look and nodded. He tried for the doorknob and carefully turned it. It was locked.

"Dammit...Here I had my hopes up that this would be easy..." said said under his breath.

He was about to back up and make his way around the house to find another door when we heard something heavy being scraped across the floor inside. Daryl raised his crossbow once again, ready to shoot whoever was behind that door if he needed to. The scraping stopped and the locks on the door began to click as if someone was turning them. The sound stopped and the door opened slowly. Only half of someones face peered out. I noticed the large couch that had been pushed up against the door. _"That must have been the loud scraping noise we heard."_ I thought.

"Natalie?" A voice said cautiously.

I narrowed my eyes at the voice. _"I know that voice..."_ I thought.

The door flew open and before I knew it, Carl Grimes had his arms flung around me and was hugging me tighter than anyone has ever hugged me in my entire life.

"Carl!" I shouted, the joy in my voice could hardly be contained. We had found my friend! He was alive!

Daryl lowered his crossbow and a look of amazement swept across his face.

"I thought I would never see any of you guys again!" Carl said as tears filled his eyes.

"Your dad?...Judith?" Daryl blurted out after the initial shock passed.

Carl's face turned grim. He only shook his head and lead us into the house where his dad, Rick, lay bloodied and battered, on a couch.

"Jesus, What the hell happened?" Daryl asked Carl.

"After all hell broke loose back at the prison, dad went after the governor and they fought it out. The governor overtook him and used the butt of his gun and did that to dad..." Carl said as he pointed to his fathers swollen and bruised face.

"...And the governor?" Daryl urged on. Almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Last I seen...Michonne cut the bastards head off with her sword..." He answered and began to trail off.

"And Michonne...?" Daryl prodded further.

"We lost her in all the chaos...along with baby Judith..." Carl replied and tears began to fall down his cheeks.

I pulled Carl to me and held him tightly.

"I bet someone has her, don't worry Carl, No one would leave her behind." I said with false confidence. Truth is, I had no clue if Judith was safe. We could only hope she was.

Daryl suddenly remembered Beth at that moment.

"Be right back." He said and headed out the door.

A few minutes later he came back in with Beth on his back. She hopped down and immediately burst into tears, seeing Carl and Rick. She had lost hope that they would find anyone. She dared to start hoping again that they would find her sister Maggie.

"Carl! I am so happy to see you!" she cried out as she embraced him in a tight hug.

Beth then looked down at the battered Rick.

"What happened? How long has he been like this?" She asked, her instincts to care for the wounded man kicked in.

"The governor is what happened, and he's been passed out for the last day or so. I found these pills and gave him some. I thought they would help with his pain..." Carl said as he threw the bottle of pills over to Daryl.

"Oxycodone...Holy shit kid, you've been giving him oxy's?" Daryl said with surprise as he read the label.

"Yeah, it's all they had." Carl answered as he motioned around the house with his finger.

"Better than nothin' I suppose...Gonna be a bitch once he comes down off them, though." He said more to himself than to Carl.

"He needs to be cleaned up. That way I can see exactly where he's bleeding from and I can take care of it from there." Beth said as she went into full nurse mode. Her father had taught her the basics of wound care when he was alive. She knew how to clean them and give stitches if need be. Her knowledge was limited though. She prayed it was nothing serious.

Beth got him cleaned up and treated all his open wounds the best she could. There were a few deep gashes that needed stitches. He was swollen and she was certain he had a broken nose. Not much to be done for that, though. She stitched him up with what she had on hand and made sure he was comfortable. She let out a long sigh as she looked over her handiwork.

"Now what?" I asked when she was finally done.

"Now we wait and see if he wakes up..." She replied.

"Ya mean _WHEN_ he wakes up." Daryl added as if the very thought of Rick Grimes not coming to, was preposturous.

Beth only nodded.

"This place have any food?" I asked Carl.

He nodded, He had scavenged what he could from the other houses on the street. He hadn't been out lately because all the walkers had shown up within the last few days. He had found quite a bit of canned goods, surprisingly. He had come across a 112 oz. can of pudding on his first run but, he would never tell them he ate the entire can in one sitting. That would be his little secret.

"Help yourselves, I know you must be hungry." Carl said as he led them to the kitchen.

"Wow, ya found all this stuff yourself?" Daryl asked as he looked at the impressive stockpile Carl had accumulated.

"Yup." He only answered back before going back to the living room where his dad was.

"I'm starving." Beth said as she looked over everything.

"So am I, But we need ta ration this stuff. No telling how long it will be before your ankle heals and we can get out of here." Daryl replied.

Beth nodded.

"You two eat and get some rest, I'll take first watch." Daryl offered.

He leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek before heading back out to the living room. It took me by total surprise. I had almost forgotten what had happened between Daryl and I the night before. With all the chaos that had happened during the day, it nearly slipped my mind. It all came flooding back to me in that instant, now that I had a moment to think clearly.

Beth's mouth dropped open in shock. "What just happened?" She finally got out.

I only shrugged and winked at her. She let out a giggle but said nothing more. She had hoped something developed between the both of us and she had tried her hardest to push Daryl and I closer together.

_"Looks like all my hard work paid off!"_ Beth thought.

Daryl on the other hand realized what he had just done halfway back to the living room. He stopped dead in his tracks and thought _"Oh shit...Did I just do that in front of Beth? She's gonna think I'm a pervert. Why the hell did I do that? You fuckin' idiot, Dixon!"_

He snapped himself out of it and hoped Beth hadn't processed what just happened. He couldn't worry about that right now. He had bigger things he needed to be focusing on at the moment.

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**Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**As always, Comments and reviews are most welcome!**

**-Fikli**


	9. Healing

**Finally updated! I have not abandoned this story! Just been super busy lately. Sorry for everyone who has been patiently waiting. I hope you all undertand though. Enjoy the new chapter!**

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Now that we had found Carl and Rick, we all felt a little relief. A new sense of hope once again filled us. If we found them, then surely we could hope to find the others. They were all survivors. They could have made it out of the prison, alive. I found myself believeing in hope, something I had never done before.

As I stared out an upstairs window of the house we had found Rick and Carl in, only hours earlier. I wondered how long we would be here. I wondered if Rick would be ok. I wondered how Carl made it by himself with a battered and unconscious father this whole time. I felt bad for him. No kid should have to deal with what he had to, with what he is dealing with now. This was a different world we live in now, though. People had to do things they wouldn't normally do.

"Ahem..."

I heard someone clear their throat behind me. It was Daryl. "Hey..." Was all he said as he leaned against the doorframe, just staring at me. I had no idea how long he had been there. I was lost in thought.

"How long you been standing there?" I finally asked with a little laugh.

He just shrugged. "A minute or so..." he answered nonchalantly. He made no move to enter the room or say anything else. He just stood there, Staring, with that same look he has been having lately. Like he was trying to figure something out in his head. Something he wasn't about to clue anyone in on.

I gave him a soft smile. This man was so awkward, it would be funny if it wasn't so adorable. I slowly made my way toward him and I seen his body tense a little. It was a habit of his, A habit I couldn't fault him for. This was a new feeling for me too. I understood his uneasiness, his uncertainty. It was a scary feeling, truth be told.

I stopped right in front of him. He was unsure of where to look at first, like he was scared to look me in the eyes. He finally allowed his eyes to meet mine after a second of hesitation, though. I smiled again and brushed the hair out of his eyes. "There, now I can see you." I said with a small chuckle. He let out a half laugh, half grunt. I leaned forward and gave him a small kiss, which he returned after a moment of hesitation.

We pulled apart after a few seconds. I held his face in my hands and continued looking him in the eyes. He seemed to be searching mine, still. Like this was all a cruel joke and he was waiting for someone to to yell out "Just kidding, asshole!" When he seen I was still sincere, he relaxed a little, finally.

"Listen...I..." He started to say but was cut off by Carl, hollering from downstairs.

"Daryl! Natalie! Dad's awake!" he shouted from the bottom of the stairs. Daryl pulled away from me immediately, being startled from the sound of Carl's voice. We both wasted no time in hurrying downstairs.

Rick Grimes was sitting up on the couch with Beth next to him, checking his cuts and wounds. Carl made his way to his fathers side and sat quietly. "Thought I'd never see you guys again." Rick managed to get out as he hung his head.

"Same here, man." Daryl replied, honestly but couldn't hide the relief in his voice.

When Beth was done fussing over him and after a moment a silence, Rick spoke again.

"Judith...?" Was all he asked.

"Dad...She...We..." Carl tried to form words but failed.

Rick nodded his head, and couldn't help the tears that began to flow.

"She might still be out there...Someone could have..." I started but was cut off.

"Someone could have what!? HUH!? Saved her? Or maybe she got up and walked away from it all!? is that what you're saying?" Rick shouted angrily at me.

"I meant...I was only trying to help..." I replied back, in shock. I was not expecting that outburst from him but, I understood it. He was in pain and no words were going to comfort him.

"Dad, Natalie meant well." Carl said in my defense.

"Yeah well, I don't want empty words from an outsider." Rick shot back, glaring at me.

"Wait a minute, Rick. I know you're just comin' to and you don't know what's goin' on. Natalie is no outsider." Daryl said as he stiffened up and squared his shoulders.

"Yeah, Rick. Natalie is a good person. She has saved us more than once. I for one am glad to have her here." Beth chimed in.

"Yeah, dad. I told you back at the prison, Natalie is not the person everyone made her out to be. She is a good person...and friend." Carl said.

Rick studied me from his swollen and bruised eyes. After a few seconds he nodded. "Look, I'm sorry...It's just stressful waking up and hearing all this news at once." Rick said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it. Just rest and get better. We can figure out what to do and where to go from here once you are all healed up." I replied.

Rick nodded again and leaned his head back on the couch and closed his eyes. That was our cue to make our way out of the living room and give him some space. "I'll go and make him something to eat." Beth said as she limped her way to the kitchen. Daryl and I followed.

"How long do you think it will take him to heal up?" we heard Carl ask from behind us.

"No tellin', He's banged up pretty good." Daryl answered. Carl only nodded.

"We will just give him some time. That's all he needs." Beth suggested.

"Yeah, well, Time ain't a luxury any of us has got anymore." Daryl replied. "Hopefully he will be good enough ta go in a few days, I don't want ta risk staying in one place too long. Ya seen what happened back at the funeral home." He added.

"Funeral home? What happened at the funeral home?" Carl asked

"Nothin' kid. We just need to be on alert. Ya hear? We will all sleep in shifts and we all take turns keepin' watch over the house." Daryl answered.

Carl only nodded. He knew trying to get any more information about the funeral home out of Daryl would have been pointless. Once Daryl was done talking, he was done talking. Though, he noticed Daryl was talking more than he had ever heard the man talk before. He was curious as to why the sudden change came about.

Beth finished up making Rick some food and asked Carl to take it to his dad. Once he was out of the room, Beth asked why Daryl hadn't told Carl about the herd.

"'Cause he didn't need ta know. He has enough shit on his plate right now. Scaring him won't help any." Daryl replied.

"But won't he be scared if that same herd finds its way here? I think you are underestimating him, Daryl. He's a tough kid." I replied.

Daryl only grunted. "I'm gonna take a look around the rest of the house. Might be some stuff we could use, layin' around." he suggested. He walked away and left Beth and I alone.

"I wonder if we will be okay..." Beth said after a moment of silence between us.

"Of course we will. We aren't going to let anything happen to you, Beth." I replied.

"That's not what I meant..." she answered. "I meant if we don't find anyone..." She added.

"You can't think like that. It will slowly tear you apart. Have some hope, Beth." I said with a hint of irritation.

"I know...I'm sorry..." She replied.

"It's ok. Let's go find something to keep us busy, yeah?" I offered. I didn't want her dwelling on that thought. No one needed to be dwelling on that thought. We needed to stay focused. We had too many close calls and have been lucky these last few run-ins. Luck was always bound to run out so I wanted to stay sharp.

Daryl returned after awhile. In his search of the house he found a flashlight, some batteries, some candles and a 9mm handgun.

"See kid, it pays to check stuff throughly." He said to Carl as he tossed him the flashlight. Daryl examined the gun more closely. It had a full clip but Daryl couldn't find anymore bullets. "It'll do in a bind, I 'spose. We should save it for an emergency, though." He said.

"We should do a sweep of the neighborhood." Rick suggested as he tried to sit up from the couch.

"Sit back down!" Beth demanded. Rick couldn't even protest. His ribs hurt and as soon as he sat up he immediately needed to sit back down.

"Carl already did a sweep of the neighborhood." I said.

"What!? you went out there alone?" Rick asked his son, sounding very angry.

"Yeah. We needed things and I did what I had to do. You weren't awake. What was I supposed to do? Starve until you woke up?" Carl retorted.

Rick had no argument there. He knew his son was capable of handling himself. After learning about baby Judith though, he was on edge. The thought that he could have lost his son out there was almost too much to bare. He only nodded, though.

"You think your ribs are broken dad?" Carl asked finally after he seen his father struggle to get up.

"Nah, But they are sore as hell. I'll be okay son, don't worry." Rick answered honestly. The Governor had done a number on him but thankfully he came out of it. He was lucky. He could have died and left his children all alone in this world. He had to heal and heal fast, he would not let Carl down. He would protect his son.

Rick felt better having Daryl there. He knew Daryl would pick up the slack for him while he healed. Daryl seemed different though. He had never seen him so comfortable around anyone. He was even talking more. He wondered what had happened between the three of them while they were out there on their own. He felt bad for snapping at Natalie. He just didn't know anything about her. He knew Carl liked her but that was it. To be honest he always thought she was biding her time until she found some place better to be. It never seemed like she wanted to be around anyone...and now here she is, chummy with Beth and Daryl.

A sudden twinge of pain hit Rick in the pit of his stomach. He felt nauseous and cold. The others noticed the sudden change in his demeanor.

"Ya alright, Rick?" Daryl asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Fine...Just feel a little sick."

"Yeah...ya are comin' down off them oxy's, they will make ya sick for awhile." Daryl replied.

"Oxy's? OXY'S Carl? That's what you have been giving me?" Rick looked over at his son.

"That's all they had and you were in pain! What was I supposed to do?" Carl replied, a bit offended.

"It's gonna be a bitch, ain't gonna lie. It'll be out of your system soon, though." Daryl offered.

Rick leaned back. Closed his eyes and prepared himself for the ride.

**XXX**

It had been a few days since we had shown up at the house where Carl and Rick took refuge. Rick seemed to be doing better and Beth's ankle was healing finally. She barely had a limp anymore. Daryl and I hadn't been alone since our little moment in the room upstairs. That was okay though. We had busied ourselves with food rationing, quick sweeps of the neighborhood and taking care of Rick during his withdrawl.

Daryl had found a map and was starting to lay out suggestions on where we could go and which ways he thought would be best. We decided to stick to small towns and stay out of the big cities. More walkers would be in the cities and that was an unnecassary risk we did not need to take. He figured if we were to run into the others, it would be on the back roads. Everyone had enough sense to stay away from the cities and so that was our game plan.

Another few days passed and we were finally ready to leave the house. We had gathered all our supplies we needed and made our way out into the unknown, once again. It made me nervous to be out in the open again. A feeling I hated. I always felt like I had lost a bit of my senses when we had been a safe place for too long. No place was a safe place though. I had to keep telling myself that. That's what got me through it. Kept me on my A-Game

We only ran into a few walkers once we were out on the road. Daryl and I quickly got back into the swing of things and handled them quickly. We decided we were going to follow the train tracks we had found into the next small town. We stayed on them for awhile until we came to a small billboard sign next to the tracks.

"Go to Terminus. -Glenn, Maggie and Tara"

"MAGGIE!" Beth exclaimed with excitement. "She's alive!"

"Who is Tara?" Carl asked

"Don't know...Maybe they found someone along the way..." Daryl answered, unsure of the answer himself.

"Should we go?" Rick asked the group.

"Worth a shot..." Daryl answered uneasily. Truth was, he wasn't sure at all. What choice did they have though. It was a better option than just wandering around until they found something, like he had planned.

"Let's go then." Rick said as he followed the tracks, slowly.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**As always, Comments and reviews are most welcome!**

**-Fikli**


	10. Desperation

**New chapter. Sorry for the long wait. Please hang in there with me.**

* * *

As the group made their way down the train tracks, unaware of what their new destination held for them, they walked in silence. Rick didn't want his feelings made known of how he felt about Natalie, so he held his tongue. He kept his mouth shut back at the house for the sake of Daryl and Beth when they vouched for her even though he found it hard to trust anyone but his own since what happened back at the prison. Carl had a soft spot for her as well but, that didn't mean anything. Carl was a teenager, he had a crush on her which was the only reason he allowed his son to hang out with her back at the prison. Carl had told him that he thought Natalie was beautiful. She was beautiful, Rick could not deny that. She had nice, tanned skin, long black hair that she kept as neatly as she could in a braid that hung down her back, she was small and petite but, Rick knew she could be fierce, and her big almond shaped eyes, always on alert, always studying her surroundings. No, pushing her looks aside, Natalie had given him no reason to trust her and it's likely he never would.

"Natalie, Up ahead." Daryl called out and snapped Rick out of his thoughts. "I see them." I called back. Up ahead, shuffling down the tracks, were three walkers. Daryl readied the crossbow and I pulled out my tomahawk, ready to take down what Daryl couldn't with the crossbow. As we got closer they grew louder and more active. "Take them out quick, before they draw attention to us!" Rick commanded in hushed tones. Daryl let loose and arrow and it hit the first walker between the eyes. I took out the second walker with my weapon fairly easy and Daryl had pulled his knife out in the meantime and got the last walker before I could.

"See, we make a good team." Daryl said in a whisper and a slight smile as he passed by me to retrieve his arrow from the walkers skull. I couldn't help but crack a smile at that. It quickly faded though, as I noticed Rick eyeing us and not looking too happy. I looked away from Rick's gaze and over to Beth and Carl, who were smiling back at me. I flashed them a quick smile and turned back to Daryl.

"You think we are close to Terminus?" I asked, more to forget about the hole Rick's eyes had pierced through me. "Yeah, I'd say we aren't far at all." Daryl answered as he looked around at the surroundings. "Maybe we should take a rest before we continue on. We have been walking all day. Rick isn't 100% yet and Beth's ankle is still a little sore." I said to Daryl who considered stopping himself but, didn't want to rest if the others weren't complaining.

"I don't need to rest, I'm fine." Rick said as he made his way up behind us. "Well I do, My ankle is starting to hurt a little." Beth interrupted in irritation. Rick stayed quiet for a moment and then nodded at Beth. "It's going to be dark soon. We will set up camp off the tracks and continue on in the morning." Rick said as he looked around, for a fitting place they could rest and stay hidden.

The group found a spot where they felt comfortable enough, though, one couldn't really be comfortable out in the open like this. "I'll take first watch." Daryl automatically said first, as he was so used to being the one to keep watch. Daryl was tired but he could hold out a lot longer than everyone else. "No, You get some rest. We need you at your best and I know you haven't been sleeping that good lately. I'll take first watch." I urged him. Daryl couldn't help but feel a little relieved. Had any of the others offered, he would have shut them down completely and took first watch anyway. Natalie, he knew he could trust her to keep them safe.

"A'right, but only let me sleep a few hours. That's all I need and I'll be good." Daryl said as he looked me in the eyes and silently gave thanks with a look that only the two of us could interpret. He grabbed his blanket and settled in on the hard ground and tried to get as comfortable as possible which wasn't an easy task. Soon the last light of the day faded and I was completely surrounded by darkness. I willed my senses to be on point, since it was dark and the moon wasn't bright enough to let me see much in the dark. I made my ears and other instincts work over time. I thought everyone was asleep, so it startled me when Rick came and sat beside me.

"Why aren't you resting?" I asked him. It was kind of annoying to be bothered while I was taking watch. My old self had kicked in and I wanted to be alone so I could do my job without distractions. I also didn't want to engage in conversation with Rick because I noticed he had been acting indifferent towards me ever since he woke up back at the house. Well, I shouldn't say say indifferent because he did find a way to downplay all my suggestions every chance he got along the way to Terminus. So, he wasn't indifferent. He was being a sarcastic asshole, though.

"Figured I'd help you out. Figured this would be the best time to talk to you also, since you aren't up Daryl's ass for once." Rick said as he lowered himself down beside me and leaned back against the tree I had rested against to take watch.

"Excuse me?" I said a little dumbfounded.

"You heard me. I ain't blind. Ever since you got to the house you been on him like a fly attracted to shit." Rick said as he stared off into the night, not caring at all for my feelings it seemed.

"You saying he's a piece of shit?" I retorted.

"No, I'm saying you are." Rick said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You don't even know me. I have done nothing but help you guys since we've been out here." I said, trying not to sound wounded.

"My point exactly. You never wanted anything to do with us back at the prison. Now all of a sudden you want to be helpful and everyone's friend? Nah, you ain't my friend and you ain't my sons friend. If you knew what was best for you, you'd part ways with us at the next town. Terminus ain't for you. You'd be better off alone, just like you wanted back at the prison." Rick said as he pushed himself up off the ground and started to walk away.

"I..." I started to say but Rick put up a hand as if to silence me. He made his way back to his spot next to Carl and laid down. I was utterly shocked. I thought maybe he would come around and eventually trust me but, it was clear he had made up his mind. I felt extremely bad because he was right. I did keep to myself back at the prison. I should have been more friendlier. Rick didn't know that it was hard for me to trust people, he had no idea what had happened to me or what I had been through. It was clear that he wouldn't listen to any explanation I had though and nothing I would do or did for our group would change it. He seen me as someone who only used people because it benefited me.

Hours had passed as I sat alone on my watch. I had a long time to mull over what Rick had said. He was right, I should leave and find my own way. The group would be better off without me. Daryl would be better off without me. What did I think? that Daryl would fall in love with me and we would live happily ever after? No, happiness didn't exist anymore, not in this world, especially for damaged goods like me. I decided I would leave them that very night. I wanted no part in explaining to Daryl why I was leaving. I'd leave that up to Rick.

_"The sun must be nearly up"_ I thought to myself. I made my way over to Beth and gently shook her awake. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and as they focused on my face, she gave me a warm smile. I was going to miss her. I had grown to think of her as a little sister, a sister I never had. I shook the thought out of my head and mustered up half a smile back at her.

"Sorry to wake you. Could I borrow a piece of paper from your little calendar you keep and a pencil?" I tried to sound normal. "Sure...what for?' Beth asked suspiciously. I'm bored, just want to doodle or something...anything to keep me occupied." I lied to her. Beth smiled and nodded and pulled out her little pocket calendar and half pencil she kept in her back pocket. She handed them over.

"You need me to keep you company?" Beth asked in a whisper so she wouldn't wake anyone.

"Nah, you get some sleep. I'm good." I said as I smiled at her. She only nodded and laid back down. I made my way back over to the tree that I had rested against half the night and sat down. I scribbled a quick apology to Daryl, Beth and Carl, Saying I didn't really want to leave but it was for the best. I figured Rick could catch the heat from Daryl after I was gone and he was forced to explain my absence.

After I finished, I closed Beth's little calendar book and let out a long sigh. A tear that I was trying to force to stay confined in my eye slowly slid down my cheek. I listened to make sure Beth had fallen back asleep which after a moment I confirmed she had. I quietly got up, made my way over to Rick and quietly shook him awake. He opened his eyes and sat up. I handed him Beth's book and nodded. He knew I wouldn't have waited for the next town to leave. He took the book from me and he nodded, signaling he knew I was leaving. He slowly got up and made his way over to the tree to finish my watch.

I couldn't help but feel bitter towards Rick as I gathered my things quietly. Daryl was going to hate me if Rick decided not to tell him the truth about me leaving. I gave everyone one last glance before I walked off into the woods. I didn't dare look back as I made my way away from our makeshift camp. I feared I wouldn't be able to leave if I did.

I walked and walked and barely noticed that the sun had risen hours ago. I had only encountered a few walkers here and there which I was extremely thankful for. The more I thought about it, the angrier I felt towards Rick. How could he even suggest that I leave and find my way alone in these woods. A hard lump settled in my throat. A sudden feeling that I had not felt in awhile hit me...terror.

I was alone for the first time in a long time and I suddenly started to doubt myself. Daryl had my back since being out here and now I was scared that I wouldn't be able to make it on my own. I was scared that I wouldn't last a day by myself. I was scared I didn't have it in me anymore to be alone.

I shook the thoughts out of my head violently. I wanted to scream, in fear and in anger but I knew that would be foolish. I stopped in my tracks and crouched down and took some deep breaths. Once I settled myself I pushed myself up on my feet and forced them to walk.

"You can do this, Natalie. You've been on your own before. Don't doubt yourself now." I said in my head. I made that my mantra as I made my way through the woods. I had repeated it so long in my head that I barely heard the noise from up ahead. I stopped dead in my tracks and listened. It sounded like two people talking. I ducked behind a tree and strained my ears to listen further.

After a moment, I confirmed that it was indeed two voices. Only one was coming through a walkie-talkie. I peaked my head out from behind the tree and seen a small building not too far off in the distance. It looked like a small cabin. In front of it, unloading stuff from the trunk of a car stood one man. He was talking into the walkie-talkie to someone.

"Yeah, those new signs we put up for Terminus are sure to lead dumb-asses our way. We won't go hungry for long, don't you worry." The man in front of the cabin said into the walkie-talkie. "Well, hopefully that group by the train tracks makes their way to us soon, Gareth is starting to get a little pissed." The voice in the walkie -talkie answered. "Yeah, he gets bitchy when he has to wait for his meal." The man said into the walkie-talkie with a laugh. "I hear that." the other voice said. That was the last of their exchange.

My heart thumped in my chest so hard that I was sure it would break through my skin and fall to the ground. _"These were the people from Terminus. They were robbing people of what little they more than likely had."_ I thought to myself. I knew I had to find out more but this guy could be dangerous. I thought of a quick plan in my head of how I would subdue him and for the first time I found myself praying, praying that things would go smoothly.

I crept my way up behind the cabin. I quickly looked in one of the windows to see if he was alone. I confirmed he was and then I quickly acted on my plan. I crept my way around the house again, tomahawk in hand, and once he had his back turned, to grab whatever was in the car, I acted quickly. I came up behind him and held the weapon to the front of his throat and told him if he made any type of sound I would slit his throat without hesitation.

I caught him off-guard and he dropped the box that was in his hands to the ground. He slowly raised his hands up in the air and I felt his swallow hard against the blade of the tomahawk.

"Y-You don't have ta do this." He tried to say. I noticed he had the same twang that Daryl had and figured he was a Georgia native like him. "I have a group, there is a sanctuary, you don't have to do this." He continued on, trembling in his boots.

"You mean the same sanctuary where you rob people of their belongings and food?" I said through gritted teeth and pressed the blade so much firmer against his throat that it actually drew a little blood.

The man stayed quiet for a moment. He put down his hands after a moment and said "We don't take their food...they are the food." with a mocking laugh. I eased up on the blade for a split second, trying to decipher his meaning when he brought his elbow to the pit of my stomach. I released him from my grip as I desperately tried to suck in air that had been knocked from me. He punched me in the face and the sheer force of the blow knocked me to the ground. I was dazed and trying to focus when he grabbed me by my hair.

"Stupid bitch. I'll make sure you're the first one Gareth gets ta taste when I take you back to Terminus." The man said as he drew me up to my feet by my hair. It all hit me at once then. The people of Terminus lured unsuspecting people to them and then subdued them somehow and killed them and ate them.

My mind suddenly went to Daryl. He had no idea where they were heading. He had no idea what was in store for them. I had to get out of this somehow. I turned, hair still in the hands of the man and seen that I miraculously still gripped my weapon. He noticed it at the same time I did and tried to take it from my hands. My survival instincts kicked in at the very moment and I started swinging with all my might at him.

I hit him first with the blunt end of my tomahawk. Then I brought my fist to his face and hit him square in the nose. It immediately started gushing blood. He let go of his grip on my hair and brought his hands up to his nose instinctively. I acted quickly before he had time to yell and bought the sharp end of the tomahawk down into his skull.

His eyes rolled up into his head and he sank to the ground in a big heap. I dropped to my knees, trying to catch my breath for a second. After a moment the pain that had been inflicted upon me hit me like a ton of bricks. My stomach hurt so bad that it made me double over in pain. I brought my hand to my eye and felt it swelling already. Not enough to hinder my eyesight in anyway, but enough to cause me discomfort. A tiny cut from it produced a little blood that slowly trickled down the side of my eyebrow and down my cheek.

I took the bottom of my tank top and brought it up to my eyebrow to wipe the blood away a little. I immediately moved my hand back when the very feel of my shirt made the wound sting. I slowly got to my feet, holding my stomach like it would somehow ease the pain in it...it didn't.

Just then the same voice that I had heard talking to the man earlier, spoke into the walkie-talkie again. "Martin, get your ass back here, the group from the tacks just walked in through the gates. It's dinner time, buddy." The voice said with a laugh.

My blood ran cold. I knew I had to get them out of there. How did I propose to do that though. I looked around for something, anything to help me. I walked over to the trunk of the car and seen an arsenal of weapons in it. There was even a bazooka in it. My mind desperately searched for answers.

"Who the hell are these people!?" I heard my voice saying out loud. Whoever they were had no idea that I had heard them. They had no idea that they were one man down, by my very hands. I gathered what weapons I thought I would need and placed them in a blanket that was in the back of the car so they would be easier to carry.

I made my way over to the man called Martin. I looked at him with disgust for a moment. I reached down and pried my tomahawk out of his skull. I left him there, as he was. He wasn't worth me wasting my energy trying to drag him somewhere the birds wouldn't feast on him. I walked back over to my stockpile of weapons and made my way towards what I realized was the back entrance of Terminus.

**XXXX**

The light had started shining in Daryl's eyes through the canopy of trees. That's what had woken him up. He sighed and pushed himself up from the hard ground. He heard off in the distance, Beth and Carl arguing. He looked around and didn't see Natalie anywhere. He made his way toward the arguing and seen Rick standing there as Beth and Carl shouted at him.

"How could you tell her that!? What the fuck is wrong with you, Rick!?" Beth shouted. "Yeah, you may as well sent her to her death, dad." Carl spat angrily at his father. Rick just stood there and let them continue yelling at him.

"What the hell is going on?" Daryl asked, which startled all of them.

"This! This is what is going on." Beth shouted as she tossed him her little calendar pocket book.

**_"Daryl, Beth and Carl. Go to Terminus. I don't belong with you all. You will be better off without me, Rick is right. I'm sorry-Natalie"_**

Daryl slowly brought his eyes up to Rick and instantly, they could all see the rage flowing through them. "What the fuck did ya say to her, Rick!?" Daryl said in a tone that no one had ever heard him use before. It was terrifying if they were honest with themselves. Beth and Carl immediately seen Daryl crumple the little book in his hand when he instinctively balled his hands into fists when he was mad.

"I didn't say anything that wasn't true, Daryl." Rick tried to sound brave but even he wavered under Daryl's intense gaze.

Daryl stalked up to him and got directly in his face.

"What did ya say to her, Rick?' Daryl repeated in an almost deadly tone.

"I said she should just leave. Daryl, she isn't one of us! all of a sudden she wants to be our friend when back at the prison she didn't give two shits about us. She would have gladly let something happen to my boy if it came down to him or her. I can't have that, I won't. She wouldn't be willing to risk her life for one of ou-" Rick tried to sound confident but was cut off when Daryl hit him so hard in the face that he flew backwards and landed flat on his back on the ground.

Daryl walked over to Rick and hovered over him, as if to continue his assault. "Daryl, no more." Beth called out to him. As if her voice brought him out of some type of trance, he looked back at her and at Carl. He only nodded and stalked off to where his things sat at the camp.

Rick sat up from the ground and shook his head as if it would help him shake off the daze that Daryl had put him into. Beth nor Carl didn't try to help him up, they just looked at him in disgust and followed after Daryl.

"What are we going to do?" Beth asked Daryl after she felt it was silent for way to long. "Don't know. No tellin' which way she went and that asshole probably didn't even care enough ta see which way she left." Daryl said as he looked over to Rick who sat against a tree off in the distance.

"Maybe she headed for Terminus." Carl tried to sound enthusiastic but failed miserably.

Daryl looked over at Carl but said nothing. Beth started to cry a little. "Well, we can't just let her wander out there alone!" She said between sobs. "Don't ya think I don't know that, Beth!? I don't know what the fuck ta do, okay!?" Daryl said as he ran his fingers through his hair in a act of frustration. "FUCK!" He shouted and kicked the nearest thing to him, not caring if he drew walkers near.

Beth jumped at his startling gesture.

After a long pause between them, Daryl finally spoke. "Our only option is ta check Terminus first. If she's not there, I'm leaving ya guys there where it's safe and I'm gonna look for her." Daryl said in desperation. Beth and Carl nodded. They gathered their things and headed down the tracks, towards Terminus. Rick kept a safe distance behind Daryl, so he wouldn't be on the receiving end of one of his rages again, if Daryl decided to fly into one.

After what seemed like an eternity, despite they quick pace, they finally reached the gates of Terminus. Daryl eyed the signs welcoming them suspiciously. He felt uneasy about being here. What choice did he have though? He had to find Natalie.

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**Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

** As always, comments and reviews are most welcome!**

**-Fikli**


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